THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 
OF  CALIFORNIA 

PRESENTED  BY 

PROF.  CHARLES  A.  KOFOID  AND 
MRS.  PRUDENCE  W.  KOFOID 


,- 


1 


] 


WILD  BEASTS 


A  STUDY    OF  THE   CHARACTERS  AND  HABITS  OF  THE 

ELEPHANT,   LION,   LEOPARD,  PANTHER,  JAGUAR, 

TIGER,  PUMA,  WOLF,  AND  GRIZZLY  BEAR 


BY 

J.    HAMPDEN    PORTER 


ILLUSTRATED 


NEW  YORK 

CHARLES  SCRIBNER'S   SONS 
1894 


COPYRIGHT,  1894,  BY 
CHARLES  SCRlBNER'S  SONS. 


PC 


TO 

Captain  Sofjn  ffi*  Bourfte 

U.    S.    ARMY 

IN   TOKEN   OF   FRIENDSHIP 

AND    IN    REMEMBRANCE    OF   THE    TIME 

WHEN   WE    STUDIED    TOGETHER 


M368660 


CONTENTS 

PAGE 

THE  ELEPHANT 

THE  LION  .                                  7<5 

THE  LEOPARD  AND  PANTHER      .       ••        •        •        •     r  »  *36 

THE  JAGUAR •   -.•:•  J75 

THE  TIGER I9 


THE  PUMA 257 

/ 

THE  WOLF         .  ....  •  3°6 

THE  GRIZZLY  BEAR    .        .        •        •     •   •     .  •  v     *        •  352 


LIST   OF    ILLUSTRATIONS 

THE  ELEPHANT  .        *        .         .         .         .  .         Frontispiece 

THE  LION Facing  page      76 

THE  LEOPARD    ...        .        .        .  "        "136 

THE  JAGUAR       ...        .        .       •-.  "        "       175 

THE  TIGER         ......  "        "       196 

THE  PUMA "        "257 

THE  WOLF "        "      306 

THE  GRIZZLY  BEAR    .        .        .        .        .  "        "352 

ix 


WILD    BEASTS 


THE    ELEPHANT 

THE  elephant  — "My  Lord  the  Elephant,"  as  he  is 
called  in  India  —  takes  precedence  of  other  quadru- 
peds upon  several  counts.  Among  these  appear  conspicu- 
ously the  facts  that  he  belongs  to  an  ancient  and  isolated 
family,  which  has  no  near  relations  occupying  lower  sta- 
tions in  life ;  likewise,  that  from  time  immemorial  these 
creatures  have  been  strong  enough  to  do  as  they  pleased. 
This  latter  circumstance  more  particularly  ensured  the 
sincere  respect  of  mankind,  and  throughout  the  records  of 
the  race  we  find  its  members  in  distinguished  positions. 
Ganesha,  the  Hindu  god  of  wisdom,  had  an  elephant's 
head,  and  Elephas  Indicus  was  worshipped  .from  Eastern 
China  to  the  highlands  of  Central  India.  In  Africa  this 
species  only  escaped  adoration  because  the  natives  of  that 
country  were  incapable  of  conceiving  any  of  those  abstract 
ideas  which  the  animal  embodied.  Wherever  an  elephant 
has  existed,  however,  men  have  looked  up  to  him,  and  as 
he  was  not  carnivorous,  it  comported  with  human  reason- 


Wild  Beasts 


ing  to  extol  the  benevolence  of  a  being  who,  if  otherwise 
constituted,  might  have  done  so  much  harm. 

Oriental,  classic,  mediaeval,  and  modern  superstitions 
cluster  about  the  elephant.  Pliny  and  y£lian  often  seem 
to  be  mocking  at  popular  credulity.  "  Valet  sensu  et  reli- 
qua  sagacitate  ingenii  excellit  elephas"  says  Aristotle,  and 
Strabo  writes  in  the  same  strain.  One  might  nearly  as 
well  take  the  verses  of  Martial  for  a  text-book  as  seek 
information  among  those  errors  and  extravagancies  of  antiq- 
uity which  Vartomannus  brought  to  a  climax. 

It  is  no  longer  said  that  elephants  who,  to  use  Colonel 
Barras'  words  ("India  and  Tiger  Hunting"),  "are  practi- 
cally sterile  in  captivity,"  are  so  because  of  their  modesty, 
or  that  this  is  attributable  to  a  nobleness  of  soul  which 
prevents  them  from  propagating  a  race  of  slaves.  Men 
would  now  be  ashamed  to  say  they  are  monotheists,  and 
retire  to  solitudes  to  pray.  But  so  little  of  comparative 
psychology  is  known,  and  the  side  lights  which  other 
sciences  throw  upon  zoology  are  so  much  disregarded, 
that  no  hesitation  is  felt  at  comparing  them  with  human 
beings,  or  measuring  the  faculties  and  feelings  of  a  beast 
by  standards  set  up  in  civilized  society. 

The  elephant  is  a  social  animal ;  in  all  herds  the  units 
are  family  groups  where  several  generations  are  often 
represented,  and  when  the  larger  aggregate  dissolves,  it 
separates  into  family  groups  again.  With  this  statement, 
anything  like  unanimity  of  opinion  among  authorities  upon 
elephants  is  at  an  end. 

It  is  said  that  years  bring  moroseness  upon  elephants, 
and  that  any  evil  tendencies  they  exhibit  in  youth  are 


The  Elephant 


aggravated  by  age.  Apart  from  what  may  be  exceptional 
in  cases  of  this  kind,  the  biological  law  is  that  the  charac- 
teristic features  of  species,  whether  physical  or  mental, 
are  not  developed  until  maturity.  Most  of  those  who 
know  these  animals  personally  agree  in  the  opinion  that 
solitary  males  are  commonly  dangerous  ;  and  although  the 
existence  of  "rogue  elephants,"  who  always  belong  to 
this  class,  has  been  denied,  confirmatory  evidence  is  too 
strong  to  be  rejected.  When  some  member  of  a  group 
becomes  separated  from  its  relations  and  is  lost,  when  a 
young  bull  is  driven  off  for  precocity,  or  an  old  tusker 
retires  to  solitude  because  he  has  been  worsted  in  combat 
with  a  rival,  the  change  of  state  cannot  fail  to  be  distress- 
ing, and  the  individual  to  deteriorate.  At  certain  seasons 
male  elephants  often  voluntarily  abandon  the  society  of 
females,  but  not  usually  of  each  other.  When  they  grow 
old,  there  is  more  or  less  tendency  towards  seclusion  in 
all  bulls.  Retirement,  however,  when  prompted  by  age, 
apathy,  or  loss  of  the  incitements  towards  association, 
is  not  at  all  like  exile  while  physical  powers  and  feelings 
are  in  force. 

Ferocity  is  much  more  frequently  met  with  in  elephants 
than  most  people  suppose ;  and  as  it  is  with  these  ani- 
mals in  a  wild  state,  so  is  it  also  among  those  in  cap- 
tivity. There  is  no  reason  why  a  captured  savage  should 
spontaneously  evolve  adornments  to  his  moral  character 
because  he  is  under  restraint.  A  vicious  brute  is  only 
restrained  by  fear,  and  this  coercive  influence  continues 
just  so  long  as  apprehension  is  not  overbalanced  by 
passion. 


Wild  Beasts 


Charles  John  Andersson  ("The  Lion  and  the  Elephant  ") 
infers  from  the  ease  with  which  this  animal  accommodates 
itself  to  those  requirements  involved  in  domestication  that 
its  "natural  disposition  is  mild  and  gentle."  G.  P.  Sander- 
son ("  Thirteen  Years  among  the  Wild  Beasts  of  India  ") 
holds  that  "obedience,  gentleness,  and  patience  .  .  . 
are  the  elephant's  chief  good  qualities." 

Corse,  speaking  from  his  long  experience  in  the  elephant 
stables  at  Teperah  and  other  places,  states  that  they  con- 
stantly exhibit  a  rooted  animosity  to  other  animals,  and 
towards  the  keepers  and  helpers  attached  to  them ;  while 
Colonel  Julius  Barras  says,  "all  the  old  tuskers  I  have 
seen  in  captivity  have  killed  one  or  two  persons  in  the 
course  of  their  career." 

Passing  from  domesticated  individuals  to  protected  herds, 
Dr.  Holub  ("Seven  Years  in  South  Africa")  found  that 
on  the  Cape  Town  reservations  they  had  "  lost  all  fear  of 
man,  and  had  become  excessively  dangerous."  Elephants 
in  the  government  forests  of  Ceylon,  where  they  are  not 
exposed  to  attack  from  sportsmen,  are  described  by  Colonel 
James  Campbell  ("  Excursions  in  Ceylon  ")  as  vicious  and 
aggressive.  On  the  other  hand,  neither  Forsyth,  Hornaday, 
Dawson,  nor  any  other  writers  who  were  acquainted  with 
the  condition  of  animals  similarly  situated  in  India,  have 
noticed  that  a  like  change  has  taken  place  among 
them. 

It  has  been  mentioned  already  that  the  existence  of 
"rogue  elephants"  is  denied;  but  everything  that  has 
ever  been  said  about  the  race  has  likewise  been  denied. 
Andersson  remarks  of  the  solitary  elephant  that  "instances 


The  Elephant 


innumerable  are  on  record  of  his  attacking  travellers  and 
others  who  had  not  offended  him  in  any  way."  A  tusker 
"in  seclusion,"  observes  Major  Leveson  ("Sport  in  Many 
Lands"),  is  always  "morose,  vicious,  and  desperately  cun- 
ning." Leveson,  Andersson,  Campbell,  Baker,  Gumming, 
and  Selous  had  ample  opportunities  for  convincing  them- 
selves of  the  reality  of  rogues. 

Speaking  of  the  species  on  both  continents,  we  may 
consider  them  as  but  little  entitled  to  much  of  their  repu- 
tation for  harmlessness.  Sir  Samuel  Baker  ("The  Rifle 
and  Hound  in  Ceylon  ")  gives  it  as  his  opinion  that  they 
are  "the  most  dangerous  creatures  with  which  a  sports- 
man can  contend ;"  and  W.  T.  Hornaday  ("Two  Years  in 
the  Jungle  ")  takes  the  same  view. 

An  elephant  never  exhibits  the  blind  and  senseless 
ferocity  of  a  black  rhinoceros.  He  is  often  fully  as  fierce, 
and  far  more  destructive,  but  this  disposition  does  not  dis- 
play itself  in  the  same  way.  Both  of  these  animals  will, 
however,  attack  by  scent  alone.  It  is  not  meant  that  in 
elephants  this  conduct  is  customary ;  all  that  is  intended 
is  to  substantiate  the  occurrence  of  such  an  act. 

This  animal's  character  is  more  completely  evinced  in 
the  expression  "My  Lord  the  Elephant"  than  it  could  be 
by  any  description,  however  true  and  striking.  Sanderson 
explains  that  the  title  is  not  given  in  reverence  so  much  as 
in  fear.  The  native  attendants  upon  elephants,  he  observes, 
have  little  respect  for  their  intelligence,  but  a  lasting  appre- 
hension of  what  may  at  any  time  happen  to  themselves. 

It  is  generally  said  that  while  male  elephants  are  free 
they  never  become  "must,"  and,  therefore,  that  this 


Wild  Beasts 


temporary  delirium  arising  from  interference  with  natural 
functions,  cannot  be  the  cause  of  those  extreme  cases  of 
viciousness  which  occasionally  make  a  tusker  the  scourge 
of  a  whole  district.  Whether  "must"  or  not,  these 
brutes  are  sometimes  mad,  and  among  other  examples 
that  might  be  given,  Sir  Samuel  Baker's  description  of  a 
"tank-rogue,"  —  shot  by  himself  in  Ceylon,  —  portrays 
too  faithfully  the  familiar  symptoms  of  mania  to  leave 
any  doubt  about  the  animal's  condition. 

This  fierce  beast  had  committed  many  murders, — kill- 
ing people  without  any  provocation ;  lying  in  wait  for 
them ;  stealing  towards  those  places  he  knew  to  be 
frequented;  and  apparently  devoting  all  his  energies  to 
the  destruction  of  human  life.  From  the  first  moment 
at  which  he  was  seen  all  his  actions  betokened  insanity. 
Baker  never  suspected  the  true  state  of  the  case,  but  he 
watched  this  elephant  for  some  time,  and  carefully  noted 
his  conduct,  —  his  wild  and  disordered  mien,  his  aimless 
restlessness,  and  causeless  anger ;  all  the  features  which 
form  the  characteristic  physiognomy  of  mania. 

Extremely  dangerous  elephants  are  not,  however,  always 
insane.  There  is  no  need  to  argue  mental  alienation  in 
order  to  account  for  acts  which  vice  of  itself  is  fully  com- 
petent to  explain.  The  beast's  strength  is  enormous,  its 
bulk  greatest  among  land  animals,  its  offensive  weapons 
and  general  capability  of  doing  harm  are  unequalled.  Of 
these  facts  the  creature  itself  must  be  conscious,  and 
it  never  exhibits  the  darker  side  of  its  character  without 
showing  that  it  is  so. 

This  leads  to  a  question  that  has  been  considerably  dis- 


The  Elephant 


puted,  and  concerning  which  many  opinions  have  been 
recorded  —  all  dogmatic,  and  most  of  them  contradictory. 
Suppose  that  a  homicidal  elephant  catches  a  fugitive  whom 
he  pursues,  how  does  he  kill  him,  and  is  he  invariably 
destroyed  ?  The  subject  stated  does  not  amount  to  much 
in  itself,  but  some  points  will  appear  in  the  course  of  a 
brief  inquiry  into  it  that  merit  attention.  All  writers  who 
held  to  the  instinctive  hypothesis,  and  imagined  that 
brutes  only  acted  in  a  predetermined  way,  have  taken 
exclusive  views  of  this  matter.  When  a  man  is  overtaken 
by  an  elephant  many  say  he  is  always  killed.  Sanderson, 
for  example,  says  so.  Captain  Wedderburn  was  killed. 
Professor  Wahlberg  was  killed.  Everybody  is  killed;  it 
cannot  be  otherwise.  Nevertheless,  Colonel  Walter  Camp- 
bell ("The  Old  Forest  Ranger")  saw  a  companion  emerge 
from  beneath  the  feet  of  a  rogue  elephant,  and  Major 
Leveson  and  Major  Blayney  Walshe  ("  Sporting  and  Mili- 
tary Adventures  in  Nepaul")  relate  the  incidents  of  like 
cases.  Henry  Courtney  Selous  ("  A  Hunter's  Wanderings 
in  Africa")  lived  to  tell  how  this  same  good  fortune  attended 
himself  ;  and  Lieutenant  Moodie  was  actually  trampled  in 
the  presence  of  several  witnesses,  and  yet,  although  con- 
siderably injured,  escaped  with  his  life. 

These  were,  of  course,  very  unusual  instances,  and  it 
is  undeniable  that  most  people  whom  elephants  catch 
are  killed.  But  how?  Pressed  to  death  with  one  of  the 
animal's  forefeet,  one  authority  declares ;  with  both  of 
them,  another  insists ;  kicked  forwards  and  backwards 
between  the  hind  and  front  legs  till  reduced  to  a  pulp, 
maintains  a.  third ;  transfixed  with  the  tusks,  kneeled  upon, 


8  Wild  Beasts 


walked  over,  dismembered,  others  protest,  as  if  any  mode 
of  putting  a  man  to  death,  except  that  particular  one 
which  they  had  determined  to  be  the  natural,  usual, 
and,  so  to  speak,  proper  method,  would  be  a  singular 
departure  from  the  course  an  elephant  might  have  been 
expected  to  pursue. 

Sir  Emmerson  Tennant  ("Ceylon"),  who  has  made  as 
many  mistakes  about  these  animals  as  can  anywhere  be 
found  gathered  together  in  one  place,  is  certain  the  tusks 
are  never  used  offensively.  He,  in  fact,  shows  that  it  is 
physically  impossible  that  they  should  be.  According  to 
him  these  appendages  are  probably  auxiliary  to  the  animal's 
food  supply,  but  for  the  most  part  useless.  Nobody,  how- 
ever, ever  saw  a  pair  of  these  developed  front  teeth  that 
were  symmetrical ;  one  is  invariably  more  worn  away  than 
the  other  on  account  of  its  having  been  used  by  preference 
in  digging  up  roots,  bulbs,  etc.  With  respect  to  their 
employment  as  weapons,  Selous  states  that  "when  an 
elephant  overtakes  his  persecutor  [a  man,  that  is  to  say], 
he  emits  scream  after  scream  in  quick  succession,  all  the 
time  stamping  upon  and  ventilating  his  adversary  with  his 
tusks."  That  these  are  "most  formidable  weapons,"  re- 
marks Sanderson,  is  recognized  by  the  animals  themselves. 
"  Tuskers  always  maintain  the  greatest  discipline  in  a 
herd.  .  .  .  Superiority  seems  to  attach  to  one  or  the  other 
in  proportion  to  the  size  of  the  tusks  ; "  and  in  the  combats 
between  bull  elephants  which  he  witnessed  "  one  was  often 
killed  outright."  Further,  when  a  male  has  only  one  tusk, 
as  not  unfrequently  happens,  this  is  obviously  more  effec- 
tive than  both  would  be,  and  in  that  event,  Sanderson 


The  Elephant 


adds,  "  he  is  the  terror  of  an  elephant  corral  ...  its  un- 
disputed lord."  The  weak  point  in  Sir  Emmerson  Ten- 
nant's  demonstration  of  the  mechanical  impossibility  of 
using  those  parts,  on  account  of  the  angle  at  which  they 
are  set  in  the  jaw,  is  due  to  his  having  overlooked  the  fact 
that  an  elephant  can  move  his  head.  Emin  Pasha  ("  Col- 
lection of  Journals,  Letters,  etc.")  reports  that  he  saw  a 
soldier  in  Central  Africa  who  had  been  desperately 
wounded  by  a  thrust  from  an  elephant's  tusk.  It  was  the 
accident  of  being  struck  by  the  side  of  one  instead  of  its 
point  that  enabled  Colonel  Barras  to  get  off  with  his  life ; 
and  Sir  Samuel  Baker  relates  the  death  of  Mr.  Ingram, 
who  was  transfixed.  These  animals  have  no  special  way 
of  inflicting  death,  though  most  commonly  this  is  caused 
by  trampling.  All  the  modes  enumerated  are  vouched  for 
by  witnesses  whose  evidence  there  is  no  reason  to  doubt, 
and  this  clash  of  opinion  is  only  one  of  the  many  out- 
growths of  that  strange  superstition  by  which  brutes  are 
represented  to  act  uniformly  in  consequence  of  their  un- 
varying mental  constitution.  Nothing,  for  instance,  even 
among  the  best  authorities,  is  more  frequently  met  with 
than  the  point-blank  assertion  that  an  elephant  never 
strikes  with  its  trunk.  Yet  Andersson  ("  Lake  N'gami ") 
was  nearly  killed  in  this  way.  General  Shakespear  saw 
his  gun-bearer  struck  down,  and  Sir  James  E.  Alexander 
("Excursions  in  Africa")  describes  its  use  as  a  means  of 
offence.  There  are  many  reasons  why  this  organ  should 
not  be  thus  employed  habitually,  but  there  is  no  cause 
which  would  prevent  it  from  being  applied  in  this  manner 
when  the  animal  himself,  who  is  much  the  best  judge, 
thought  proper  to  do  so. 


io  Wild  Beasts 


The  effect  upon  these  species  of  those  general  influ- 
ences which  are  exerted  by  social  life  may  be  inferred 
from  the  existence  of  their  coherent  family  groups,  from 
the  protracted  period  during  which  maternal  guardianship 
is  continued,  and  the  baneful  results  that  solitude  brings 
about.  Still  there  seems  to  be  little  doubt  that  Green, 
Moodie,  and  Pollok  represent  the  best  opinion  in  saying 
that  sympathy  is  less  active  in  elephants  than  it  is  in  many 
animals  whose  moral  qualities  have  usually  been  considered 
as  greatly  inferior  to  theirs.  "  I  have  never  known  an 
instance,"  remarks  Sanderson,  "  of  a  tusker  undertaking  to 
cover  the  retreat  of  a  herd." 

Although  elephants  are  often  hysterical,  and  always 
nervous,  discipline  effects  great  changes  in  their  ordinary 
conduct.  At  the  same  time,  they  can  rarely  be  trusted. 
Sir  Samuel  Baker  states  ("  Wild  Beasts  and  Their  Ways") 
that  he  had  never  ridden  but  "  one  thoroughly  dependable 
elephant,"  and  most  tiger-hunters  say  the  same. 

Elephants  are  without  ideals  of  any  kind.  They  cannot 
be  influenced  by  superstitions,  and  it  is  useless  to  explain 
their  excellencies  and  defects  by  reference  to  a  descent  of 
which  we  know  nothing,  or  to  assume  that  transformations 
may  be  effected  by  means  of  an  education  that  always 
begins  de  novo,  and  is  in  itself  superficial  and  incomplete 
in  the  highest  degree.  Foreknowledge  of  those  conse- 
quences entailed  by  misbehavior  no  doubt  prompts  most 
of  the  acts  that  are  attributed  to  industry,  magnanimity, 
friendliness,  and  forbearance,  as  attention  to  their  keeper's 
directions  explains  the  usual  manifestations  of  intellect 
that  have  been  so  much  admired. 


The  Elephant  n 


Those  who  know  them  best  think  that  elephants,  as 
Sanderson  expresses  it,  are  "wanting  in  originality,"  so 
that  when  an  unusual  emergency  occurs  they  feel  at  a  loss. 
It  is  true  that  life  is  in  some  respects  comparatively  simple 
with  these  animals,  and  that  its  necessities  neither  involve 
the  same  constructions,  nor  require  a  like  care  with  that 
imposed  upon  many  others.  But  in  those  directions  in 
which  the  struggle  for  existence  engages  their  powers 
energetically  they  display  considerable  capacity,  though 
not  of  the  highest  brute  order.  Colonel  Pollok  ("  Sport  in 
British  Burmah")  says,  "if  Providence  has  not  given  intel- 
lect to  these  creatures,  it  has  given  them  an  instinct  next 
thing  to  it.  ...  Providence  has  taught  them  to  choose 
the  most  favorable  ground,  whether  for  camping  of  feed- 
ing, and  to  resort  to  jungles  where  their  ponderous  bodies 
so  resemble  the  rocks  and  dark  foliage  that  it  is  difficult 
for  the  sportsman  to  distinguish  them  from  surrounding 
objects ;  whilst  their  feet  are  so  made  that  not  only  can 
they  tramp  over  any  kind  of  ground,  whether  hard  or  soft, 
rough  or  smooth,  but  this  without  making  a  sound. 

"  Some  of  their  camping-grounds  are  models  of  ingenuity, 
surrounded  on  three  sides  by  a  tortuous  river,  impassable 
by  reason  either  of  the  depth  of  water,  its  precipitous 
banks,  quicksands,  or  the  entangling  reeds  in  its  bed ; 
while  the  fourth  side  would  be  protected  by  a  tangled 
thicket  or  a  quagmire.  In  such  a  place  elephants  would  be 
in  perfect  safety,  as  it  would  be  impossible  for  them  to  be 
attacked  without  the  attacking  party  making  sufficient 
noise  to  put  them  on  the  alert. 

"  Their  method  of  getting  within  such  an  enclosure  is 


12  Wild  Beasts 


also  most  ingenious.  They  will  scramble  down  the  bank 
where  the  water  is  deepest,  and  then,  after  either  wading 
or  swimming  up  or  down  stream,  ascend  the  opposite  bank 
a  good  half-mile  or  more  from  where  they  descended, 
thereby  doubly  increasing  the  difficulty  of  following  them." 

Many  animals  rival  elephants  in  those  respects  described, 
and  a  few  surpass  them.  All  that  they  do  has  been  too 
much  exaggerated,  and  their  unquestionable  sagacity  loses 
much  of  its  point  by  being  unduly  exploited. 

Relative  complexity  of  structure  in  brain  and  mind  is  in 
no  way  more  strongly  marked  than  by  the  ability  to  sup- 
press emotion.  This  is  not  the  highest  characteristic  of 
an  evolved  organism,  but  it  is  one  that  no  being  which  is 
not  of  a  high  grade  can  possess.  When  a  captive  elephant, 
often  without  any  provocation,  makes  up  its  mind  to  com- 
mit murder,  nothing  can  exceed  the  patience  with  which 
the  animal  awaits  an  opportunity,  except  its  power  of  dis- 
simulation. How  it  regards  the  contemplated  act,  what 
thoughts  and  feelings  are  agitated  while  brooding  over  its 
accomplishment,  we  do  not  know,  but  the  history  of  many 
such  cases  has  been  fully  given,  and  of  the  behavior  dis- 
played under  these  circumstances  we  can  speak  with 
certainty. 

Generally  elephants  kill  their  attendants,  as  being  those 
most  likely  to  give  offence.  An  antipathy  is,  however,  some- 
times conceived  against  some  casual  acquaintance,  whose 
efforts  to  ingratiate  himself  have  only  inspired  the  creatures 
with  a  causeless  hatred.  It  is  the  fashion  to  say  that 
homicide  by  these  beasts  always  indicates  that  they  have 
been  injured.  People  endow  elephants  with  an  exag- 


The  Elephant  13 


gerated  form  of  the  sensitive  pride  belonging  to  human 
character,  and,  through  some  unexplainable  process  of 
thought,  reconcile  its  coexistence  with  the  malignant 
temper  of  a  murderous  brute.  The  way  in  which  one  of 
their  attendants  talks  to  an  elephant  whom  he  suspects 
is  strange  enough.  This  man  despises  his  intellect,  and 
knows  his  character  thoroughly.  "  Have  I  ever  been 
wanting  in  respect  ?  Astagh-fur-Ulla.  God  forbid  !  Let 
my  Lord  remember  how  yesterday  at  bathing-time  he 
was  placed  under  a  tree,  while  that  son  of  Satan,  Said 
Bahadur,  stood  in  the  sun.  Who  has  provided  your 
highness  with  sugar-cane,  and  placed  lumps  of  goor 
between  your  back  teeth  ?  I  represent  that  this,  oh,  pro- 
tector of  the  poor,  it  was  my  good  fortune  to  do.  Hereafter 
I  will  deprive  those  unsainted  ones  about  you  of  their  pro- 
visions and  bestow  them  upon  you."  That  is  the  way  a 
Hindu  talks,  hoping  to  mollify  the  animal. 

Certain  traits  in  animals  have  come  to  be  accepted  as 
peculiarly  significant  of  their  respective  grades  ;  parental 
affection,  for  example.  The  male  elephant  is  as  nearly  as 
possible  without  a  trace  of  this  feeling,  but  his  polygamous 
habits  account  to  a  great  extent  for  the  deficiency.  It  is  a 
quality  which  greatly  preponderates  in  females  of  most 
species,  and  in  one  so  elevated  we  might  expect  to  find 
that  this,  as  Buffon  asserts,  was  a  prominent  trait. 
Frederick  Green  informs  us,  however,  that  "the  female 
elephant  does  not  appear  to  have  the  affection  for  her  off- 
spring which  one  would  be  led  to  suppose, "  and  his  view 
is  very  far  from  being  singular.  The  author  has  not 
found  any  justification  in  facts  for  Buffon's  assertion  to 


14  Wild  Beasts 


the  contrary.  Doctor  Livingstone  ("Travels  and  Re- 
searches in  South  Africa")  reports  the  case  of  a  calf 
elephant  whom  its  mother  abandoned  when  attacked,  and 
Sir  W.  Cornwallis  Harris  ("Wild  Sports  in  Southern 
Africa")  says  that  a  young  animal  of  this  kind  if  accident- 
ally separated  from  its  mother  forgets  her  instantly,  and 
seeks  to  attach  itself  to  the  nearest  female  it  can  find. 
Sanderson  observes  in  this  connection  that  "while  the 
female  evinces  no  particular  affection  for  her  progeny, 
still,  all  the  attention  a  calf  can  get  is  from  its  own 
mother." 

G.  Macloskie  ("Riverside  Natural  History")  states  that 
"  elephants  are  well  disposed  towards  each  other  in  aggre- 
gation." Evidently  such  must  be  the  case,  or  they  could 
not  live  together.  Their  gregarious  habits  imply  an  aver- 
age friendliness. 

While,  however,  their  ordinary  temper  may,  or  rather 
must,  be  as  stated,  leadership  in  herds,  when  this  is 
not  held  by  a  tuskless  male  or  "some  sagacious  old 
female,"  whose  abilities  their  companions  are  intelligent 
enough  to  understand,  is  settled  by  combat,  and  main- 
tained in  the  same  way.  Moreover,  bull  elephants  often 
quarrel  and  fight  desperately  in  the  free  state,  and  it  is 
said  by  one  or  two  observers  (Drummond  particularly) 
that  when  herds  intoxicate  themselves,  as  they  do  upon 
every  opportunity,  with  the  Um-ga-nu  fruit,  they  exhibit 
scenes  of  riot  and  violence  which  cannot  be  matched  on 
earth.  Captive  tuskers  in  elephant  stables  are  always  at 
feud  with  some  other  animal,  and  all  their  inmates  quar- 
rel upon  small  provocation.  Recently-captured  elephants 


The  Elephant  15 


that  have  not  been  removed  from  the  corral  frequently 
attack  each  other,  and  when  some  lost  or  exiled  wanderer 
attempts  in  his  distress  and  loneliness  to  join  another 
band,  its  champion  at  once  assails  him. 

There  is  one  detestable  trait,  not  uncommon  among 
many  species,  and  shared  by  a  portion* of  savage  man- 
kind, which  elephants  do  not  display.  They  never  destroy 
injured  or  disabled  animals  of  their  own  kind.  On  the 
contrary,  when  sympathy  does  not  involve  self-sacrifice, 
they  sometimes  (not  always  by  any  means)  show  that 
they  are  not  without  the  feeling,  and  this  conclusion 
seems  to  be  quite  capable  of  resisting  all  the  destructive 
criticism  that  can  be  brought  to  bear  upon  it. 

Wild  beasts  have  usually  been  written  about  both  care- 
lessly and  dogmatically.  Men,  for  the  most  part,  no 
doubt  unconsciously,  speak  of  them  as  if  they  knew  what 
it  is  impossible  that  they  should  know ;  and  it  is  difficult 
to  banish  the  suggestion  that  many  of  our  prevailing 
opinions  are  in  fact  survivals  from  savagery.  Public 
feeling  towards  elephants  is  undoubtedly  swayed  by  their 
size,  and  by  involuntary  apprehension.  We  are  struck  by 
the  contrast  between  the  animal's  placid  appearance  and 
those  powers  it  embodies.  In  short,  people  do  not  study 
elephants,  or  reason  about  them ;  they  feel  in  a  modified 
form  those  original  impressions  which  operated  upon  their 
remote  ancestors.  Hence,  in  great  measure  probably, 
Buffon's  ipse  dixit,  "dans  Pttat  satwdge,  Vttfyhant  riest 
ni  sanguinaire,  ni  ftroce,  il  est  d"un  natural  doux,  et 
jamais  il  ne  fait  abus  de  ses  armes,  ou  de  sa  force"  It  is 
not  so  much  the  verbal  statement  that  need  be  objected 


1 6  Wild  Beasts 


to  in  this  sweeping  assertion,  as  the  spirit  in  which  it  is 
made.  More  is  implied  than  said,  and  the  implication  is 
that  an  elephant  is  self-controlled  by  sentiments  that  are 
as  foreign  to  its  mind  as  a  pair  of  wings  would  be  to  its 
body.  A  wild  beast,  which  while  free  to  follow  its  own 
devices  and  desires,  does  not  conduct  itself  like  a  wild 
beast,  is  an  impossibility  in  actual  life. 

Sanderson  supposes  that  "all  catching  elephants"  — 
the  trained  ones  used  in  securing  captives — "evince  the 
greatest  relish  for  the  sport."  This  is  a  mild  way  of 
putting  Sir  Emmerson  Tennant's  opinion  that  they  show 
a  decided  satisfaction,  a  malignant  pleasure,  such  as  Dr. 
Kemp  ("  Indications  of  Instinct ")  describes,  in  the  mis- 
fortunes of  their  fellows.  Now  in  what  way  Sanderson 
discovered  that  this  state  of  mind  existed  cannot  be 
divined,  for  he  gives  it  as  the  result  of  his  own  direct 
observations,  that  "  the  term  decoy  is  entirely  misapplied 
to  tame  elephants  catching  wild  ones,  as  they  act  by  com- 
mand of  their  riders,  and  use  no  arts.  .  .  .  The  animal 
is  credited  with  originating  what  it  has  been  taught,  with 
doing  of  itself  what  it  has  been  instructed  to  do.  ... 
I  have  seen  the  cream  of  trained  elephants  at  work  .  .  . 
in  Bengal  and  Mysore  :  I  have  managed  them  myself  under 
all  circumstances  .  .  .  and  I  can  say  that  I  never  have 
seen  one  display  any  aptitude  for  dealing  undirected  with 
an  unexpected  emergency."  Since  he  then  believes  them 
to  be  incapable  of  showing  this  "  relish  "  by  their  actions, 
since  he  has  never  known  them  to  do  anything  of  them- 
selves on  these  occasions,  in  what  way  did  he  find  out 
how  they  felt  ? 


The  Elephant  17 


All  those  who  speak  from  experience  concur  in  repre- 
senting a  hunted  elephant  who  does  not  or  cannot  escape, 
as  superlatively  dangerous.  This  is  not  only  attributable 
to  the  fact  that  he  is  then  extremely  fierce  and  determined, 
but  also  to  his  undoubted  ability  to  use  the  great  powers 
of  attack  and  defence  he  possesses.  The  animal  is  capable 
of  considerable  speed  for  a  short  distance,  but  it  is  not 
possible  for  him  to  prolong  effort  to  any  great  extent. 

Selous  asserts  that  no  large  creature,  except  a  rhinoc- 
eros, matches  the  elephant  in  its  activity  upon  rough 
ground.  "They  can  wheel  like  lightning,"  says  Baker; 
or,  as  Andersson  expresses  it,  "  Spin  round  on  a  pivot." 
Captain  J.  H.  Baldwin  ("Large  and  Small  Game  of 
Bengal ")  describes  their  performances  upon  hillsides  as 
very  remarkable. 

Captain  James  Forsyth  informs  us  of  the  ease  and 
celerity  with  which  they  move  over  a  broken  surface. 
Inglis  ("Work  and  Sport  on  the  Nepaul  Frontier")  relates 
the  dexterity  and  quickness  of  these  ponderous  beasts  in 
crossing  gullies  that  seem  impassable.  There  is  probably 
no  animal  safer  to  ride  over  a  dangerous  mountain  road. 
Nervous  as  he  is,  his  intelligence  acts  through  a  brain 
well  enough  organized  to  warn  him  against  the  conse- 
quences of  carelessness.  A  horse  will  dash  himself  to 
death  getting  out  of  the  way  of  a  swaying  shadow  or 
whirling  leaf,  and  on  many  journeys  nobody  thinks  of 
mounting  one ;  but  the  elephant's  prudence,  if  not  his 
courage,  is,  as  a  rule,  to  be  relied  upon. 

It  has  somewhat  arbitrarily  been  decided  upon  that  an 
elephant  can  travel  at  the  rate  of  fifteen  miles  an  hour  for 


1 8  Wild  Beasts 


a  few  hundred  yards,  and  no  faster.  Its  gait  has  been 
similarly  settled  by  several  authorities.  Dr.  Living- 
stone declares  that  the  animal's  "quickest  pace  is  only  a 
sharp  walk."  Sanderson  modifies  this  statement  by  say- 
ing that  the  rapid  walk  "  is  capable  of  being  increased  to 
a  fast  shuffle."  He  adds  the  information  that  "an  elephant 
cannot  jump  .  .  .  can  never  have  all  four  feet  off  the 
ground  at  once  .  .  .  and  can  neither  trot,  canter,  nor 
gallop."  Joseph  Thomson,  however  ("Through  Masai 
Land  "),  saw  one  of  these  animals  which  he  had  wounded 
on  the  plateau  of  Baringo,  "go  off  in  a  sharp  trot,"  and 
Colonel  Barras,  while  beating  a  clump  of  bushes  for  a 
wounded  tiger,  rode  his  Shikar  tusker  Futteh  Ali  almost 
over  the  concealed  brute ;  whereupon  says  Barras,  "  he 
spun  round  with  the  utmost  velocity  and  fled  at  a  rapid 
gallop.  The  pace  was  so  well  marked  that  it  would  be 
useless,  as  far  as  I  am  concerned,  for  any  one  to  say  that 
it  was  mechanically  impossible  for  an  elephant  to  use  this 
gait.  To  such  learned  objectors  I  would  point  out  the  fact 
that  impossibilities  are  of  daily  occurrence,  and  would  fur- 
ther beg  them  to  suspend  judgment  till  they  have  sat  on 
an  elephant's  neck  with  an  enraged  tiger  roaring  at  his 
heels."  Much  the  same  restriction  has  been  placed  by 
some  naturalists  upon  the  camel's  paces.  Nevertheless, 
Sir  Samuel  Baker  and  G.  C.  Stout  were  convinced  that 
they  had  seen  camels  trot,  and  the  author  is  quite  as  cer- 
tain as  Colonel  Barras  could  possibly  be  that  he  has  known 
them  to  gallop. 

It  has  been  the  fashion  to  praise  these  animals  indis- 
criminately.    Among  other  things  the  silence  maintained 


The  Elephant  19 


by  so  bulky  a  creature,  and  the  noiselessness  of  its  move- 
ments, are  mentioned  as  evidences  of  great  sagacity.  An 
elephant,  however,  cannot  make  a  noise  with  its  feet 
except  by  kicking  something  out  of  the  way  or  breaking 
it;  their  formation  renders  its  tread,  under  ordinary  cir- 
cumstances, inaudible.  The  body  also  being  elliptical  in 
its  long  diameter,  passes  through  undergrowth,  when  the 
animal  is  moving  slowly,  like  a  vessel  through  water.. 
Further,  obstacles  that  do  not  offer  too  much  resistance 
are  put  aside  easily  by  the  trunk,  which  has  all  those  vari- 
eties of  motion  that  about  fifty  thousand  sets  of  muscles 
can  confer.  More  than  this,  quietness  is  not  necessarily 
a  mark  of  caution,  foresight,  or  self -restraint,  and  some  of 
the  wariest  creatures  in  existence  are  by  no  means  quiet. 
As  a  matter  of  fact,  if  not  alarmed  or  asleep,  —  in  which 
case  he  snores  in  a  manner  conformable  with  his  size,  — 
the  elephant  is  one  of  the  noisiest  of  wild  beasts.  A  per- 
petual crashing  accompanies  both  individuals  and  herds 
while  feeding,  and  in  hours  of  repose  they  frequently 
trumpet,  their  deep  abdominal  rumble  is  often  heard,  and 
sounds  expressive  of  contentment  or  dissatisfaction  con- 
stantly break  the  silence  of  the  forest. 

When  danger  is  apprehended,  if  they  do  not  dash  away 
"  with  the  rush  of  a  storm,"  elephants  are  apt  to  remain 
motionless  for  a  time,  while  straining  their  most  perfect 
senses — those  of  hearing  and  smell  —  in  order  to  ascer- 
tain its  character  and  proximity,  or  one  or  more  may 
advance  cautiously  in  order  to  see.  Having  done  this, 
they  depart  as  secretly  as  possible,  and  in  the  way  men- 
tioned, but  why  anybody  should  wonder  that  these  crea- 


2O  Wild  Beasts 


tures,  whose  sagacity  is  considered  to  be  so  extraordinary, 
do  not  move  off  abreast  instead  of  in  single  file,  as  is 
their  custom,  and  thus  voluntarily  encounter  the  greatest 
amount  of  resistance,  and  ensure  the  most  disturbance,  it 
is  not  easy  to  understand.  In  all  measures  relating  to 
evasion,  as  contradistinguished  from  precaution,  these 
beings  occupy  an  inferior  position :  their  color  makes 
them  nearly  indistinguishable  in  those  places  they  mostly 
occupy,  and  the  footfall  is  naturally  noiseless,  but  they 
employ  none  of  those  arts  in  which  many  species  are 
expert,  and  do  not  even  confuse  their  trail.  This  defi- 
ciency in  cunning  cannot  be  accounted  for  by  the  off- 
hand explanation  that  the  elephant,  conscious  of  his 
strength,  has  no  need  to  conceal  himself.  He  has  fully 
as  much,  if  not  more  reason  to  do  so,  than  many  other 
animals,  and  the  experience  by  which  the  latter  have 
profited  has  been  common  to  them  all. 

Those  inferences  which  have  oftentimes  been  drawn 
from  the  social  life  of  elephants  will  scarcely  stand  the 
tests  furnished  by  sociology.  "  A  herd  of  elephants," 
observes  Leveson,  "  is  not  a  group  that  accident  or  attach- 
ment may  have  induced  to  associate  together,  but  a 
family,"  between  whose  members  "special  resemblances 
attest  their  common  origin."  Reasoning  from  statements 
like  this,  it  is  concluded  that  results  accrue  from  an 
•  aggregation  of  relatives  similiar  to  those  which  obtain  in 
human  families ;  —  that  they  are,  in  effect,  groups  of  the 
same  kind,  saved  from  disruption  and  made  amenable  to 
improvement  by  mutual  aids,  forbearances,  affections,  and 
distributions  of  office.  But  those  resemblances  discovera- 
ble do  not  warrant  the  comparison, 


The  Elephant  21 


What  we  know  of  social  groups  among  elephants  is  that 
they  are  unlike  those  formed  by  mankind.  It  is  doubtful 
whether  the  family,  properly  so-called,  primarily  exists  in 
human  society,  and  whether  it  is  not  a  later  combination 
instituted  upon  the  basis  of  common  possessions.  Starcke 
("  The  Primitive  Family ")  holds  that  such  is  the  case, 
and  his  view  has  not  been  shown  to  be  incorrect.  If  this 
is  true,  to  compare  these  congregations  is  to  place  lower 
animals  by  the  side  of  human  beings  who  have  already 
taken  an  important  step  in  advance.  As  a  matter  of  fact, 
the  qualities  by  which  such  groups  are  united  among 
mankind,  are  to  a  great  extent  wanting  with  elephants. 
They  cannot  be  wholly  absent,  but  they  are  inconspicu- 
ous and  obscured  by  disaggregative  tendencies.  As  life 
advances,  age  -does  not  bring  with  it  a  fruition  of  those 
tendencies  upon  which  family  ties  depend  ;  time  only  tends 
to  exaggerate  everything  that  is  unsocial  in  the  brute's 
nature. 

Many  conclusions  respecting  the  intellect  and  emotional 
character  of  elephants  have  been  drawn  from  untrust- 
worthy anecdotes.  It  is  in  an  uncritical  spirit  that  Pro- 
fessor Robinson  ("  Under  the  Sun  ")  reports  the  behavior 
of  that  famous  tusker  who  bore  the  imperial  standard  on 
some  old  Mogul-Mahratta  battle-field.  The  day  had  gone 
against  his  side,  the  color-guard  was  scattered,  broken  squad- 
rons swept  past  the  elephant,  and  his  mahout  was  dead. 
He  stood  fast,  however,  and  finally  the  retreating  forces  ral- 
lied around  him,  and  the  field  was  retrieved.  Taken  liter- 
ally, his  conduct  amounted  to  this  ;  namely,  that  his  keeper 
whom  he  was  accustomed  to  obey,  ordered  him  to  stand 


22  Wild  Beasts 


still,  and  he  did  so.  Of  course  this  animal  possessed 
unusual  nerve,  but  what  else  did  he  have  ?  The  high 
sense  of  duty  Professor  Robinson  has  discovered ;  heroic 
self-sacrifice  that  kept  him,  like  the  unrelieved  Roman 
sentinels  at  Pompeii,  on  his  post  to  the  last  ?  There  is 
just  the  same  reason  for  thinking  so  as  there  is  for  giving 
to  the  riderless  horses  who  galloped  with  the  Light  Bri- 
gade towards  the  Russian  guns  at  Balaklava,  the  senti- 
ments of  those  soldiers  who  made  that  gallant  but  useless 
charge. 

So  it  is  with  all  instances  of  a  like  character.  There 
are  many  more  accounts  of  the  elephant's  cowardice  than 
of  its  courage,  and  it  is  notoriously  untrustworthy  in  war. 
Some  are  braver  than  others,  but  as  soon  as  we  attempt  to 
find  out  from  the  literature  of  this  subject  which  are  the 
bravest,  —  young  or  old,  male  or  female,  trained  or  un- 
trained, wild  or  tame, — hopelessly  contradictory  state- 
ments crowd  upon  us  from  all  sides.  The  highest,  the 
most  complete,  the  severest  discipline  this  beast  receives 
is  in  the  hunting-field,  and  Colonel  MacMaster  expresses 
the  general  tenor  of  opinion  upon  its  results  in  saying,  "  I 
have  never  known  an  elephant  who  could  be  depended 
upon  for  dangerous  shooting."  As  a  class  these  animals 
are  liable  to  panic,  easily  confused,  and  often  become  im- 
becile on  account  of  nervous  agitation.  It  is  not  uncom- 
mon to  see  a  tusker  fly  screaming  with  fear  from  the  skin 
of  a  tiger  which  he  has  seen  taken  off,  or  to  have  him 
bolt  from  its  dead  body  when  that  is  instantly  recognized 
as  harmless  by  the  jungle  crow,  pea-fowl,  or  monkey. 
Being  extremely  afraid  of  bears  for  some  unknown  reason, 


The  Elephant  23 


and  nearly  idiotic  when  frightened,  an  elephant  may  attack 
the  hunter  who  has  just  stepped  off  his  back  into  a  tree, 
thinking  that  he  has  been  suddenly  transformed  into  a 
brute  of  this  kind.  But  from  all  appearances  some  of 
them  like  to  hunt,  and  when  well  broken  and  in  good 
health,  their  prompt  and  intelligent  obedience,  their  dis- 
play of  natural  powers  of  several  kinds,  and  the  firmness 
with  which  they  confront  danger  and  bear  pain,  are 
wonderful. 

Neither  the  man  on  his  back  nor  the  elephant  himself 
is  by  any  means  secure  against  fatal  results  when  a  tiger 
charges  home.  Shikar  animals,  nevertheless,  often  do 
everything  that  is  required  of  them  admirably.  The  diffi- 
culty is  that  the  best  elephants  cannot  be  counted  upon. 
A  tusker,  whose  scars  speak  for  themselves,  is  as  likely 
as  not,  says  Colonel  MacMaster,  "  to  bolt  from  a  hare  or 
small  deer,  or  quake  with  fear  when  a  partridge  or  pea- 
fowl rises  under  his  trunk." 

The  following  narrative  by  Captain  James  Forsyth 
("The  Highlands  of  Central  India")  illustrates  some  of 
the  foregoing  criticisms  very  well :  — 

"It  was  in  1853  that  the  two  brothers  N.  and  Colonel 
G.  beat  the  covers "  of  Betul,  near  the  village  of 
Bhadugaon,  "for  a  family  of  tigers  said  to  be  in  it.  One  of 
the  brothers  was  posted  in  a  tree,  while  G.  and  the  other 
N.  beat  through  on  an  elephant.  The  man  in  a  tree  first 
shot  two  of  the  tigers,  and  then  Colonel  G.  saw  a  very 
large  one  lying  in  the  shade  of  a  bush  and  fired  at  it, 
on  which  it  charged  and  mounted  the  elephant's  head. 
It  was  a  small  female  elephant,  and  was  terribly  punished 


24  Wild  Beasts 


about  the  trunk  and  eyes  in  this  encounter,  though  the 
mahout  (a  bold  fellow  named  Ramzan,  who  was  afterwards 
in  my  own  service)  battered  the  tiger's  head  with  his  iron 
driving-hook  so  as  to  leave  deep  marks  in  the  bones  of  his 
skull.  At  length  he  was  shaken  off,  and  retreated ;  but 
when  the  sportsmen  urged  in  the  elephant  again,  and  the 
tiger  charged  as  before,  she  turned  round,  and  the  tiger 
catching  her  by  the  hind  leg  fairly  pulled  her  over  on  her 
side.  My  informant,  who  was  in  the  howdah,  said  that  for 
a  time  his  arm  was  pinned  between  it  and  the  tiger's  body, 
who  was  making  efforts  to  pull  the  shikari  out  of  the  back 
seat.  They  were  all,  of  course,  spilt  on  the  ground  with 
their  guns,  and  Colonel  G.,  getting  hold  of  one,  made  the 
tiger  retreat  with  a  shot  in  the  chest.  The  elephant  had 
fled  from  the  scene  of  action,  and  the  two  sportsmen  then 
went  in  at  the  beast  on  foot.  It  charged  again,  and  when 
close  to  them  was  finally  dropped  by  a  lucky  shot  in  the 
head.  But  the  sport  did  not  end  here,  for  they  found  two 
more  tigers  in  the  same  cover  immediately  afterwards,  and 
killed  one  of  them,  making  four  that  day.  The  worrying 
she  had  received,  however,  was  the  death  of  the  elephant, 
which  was  buried  at  Bhadugaon,  — one  of  the  few  instances 
on  record  of  an  elephant  being  actually  killed  by  a  tiger." 
There  is  no  way  in  which  the  intellect,  moral  attributes, 
temper,  receptive  power,  and  adaptability  of  elephants  can 
be  decided  upon  en  masse.  An  animal  of  this  kind  will 
tend  his  keeper's  infant  with  a  solicitude  which  seems  to 
justify  all  that  has  been  said  of  his  benevolence ;  he  will 
also  watch  for  an  opportunity  to  kill  its  father  with  a 
patience  and  self-command  that  are  more  significant  still. 


The  Elephant  25 


In  the  latter  event  the  motive  (hatred)  displays  itself,  and 
the  manner  in  which  the  design  is  carried  out  can  be 
studied  ;  but  with  respect  to  the  determining  causes  of 
conduct  in  the  first  instance  we  know  nothing.  An  intel- 
ligent animal  has  been  told  to  do  something  which  it 
understands,  and  does  it  to  the  best  of  its  ability.  That  is 
all  the  facts  warrant  us  in  saying. 

One  way  of  estimating  the  degree  of  feeling  in  any  case 
is  to  measure  the  actions  that  express  it  by  what  they  cost 
the  individual  who  performs  them.  An  elephant's  oppor- 
tunities for  displaying  self-abnegation  can  be  but  few,  and 
most  of  those  voluntary  deeds  upon  which  his  reputation 
rests  require  little  or  no  self-forgetfulness.  In  the  hunt- 
ing-field he  is  under  coercion.  A  hunted  elephant,  how- 
ever, is  not  in  this  position,  and  it  is  in  its  conduct 
that  we  notice  such  examples  of  this  kind  of  behavior  as 
may  be  regarded  in  the  light  of  cases  in  point.  Elephants 
—  females  most  frequently  —  sometimes  fight  in  defence 
of  their  associates  when  they  themselves  are  not  directly 
attacked.  Both  sexes  have  been  occasionally  known  to 
give  assistance  to  each  other  when  they  might  have  been 
killed  in  doing  so.  But  for  the  most  part  they  are  very 
far  from  acting  in  this  way.  Fishes,  reptiles,  birds,  to- 
gether with  a  large  number  of  land  animals,  have  fully 
equalled  elephants  in  everything  they  have  done  in  this 
direction.  Much  has  been  said  of  the  affection  an  elephant 
feels*  for  the  person  who  feeds  and  tends  it,  of  the  care, 
consideration,  respect,  and  obedience  it  renders  to  a  being 
whose  superiority  this  amazing  brute  recognizes.  Never- 
theless, it  is  most  probable  that  this  individual  had  better 


26  Wild  Beasts 


be  anywhere  else  than  within  reach  of  its  trunk  if  there 
is  a  probability  of  the  animal's  getting  bogged,  for  the 
chances  are  that  he  will  be  buried  beneath  its  feet  for  a 
support. 

This  is  not  said  with  the  intention  of  disparaging  those 
good  qualities  which  elephants  possess.  It  must  be  plain 
from  what  has  gone  before  that  nothing  else  was  to  be 
expected.  Except  in  the  way  of  patient  dissimulation,  it 
would  be  difficult  to  show  that  when  these  animals  take 
to  evil  courses  they  display  more  ability  in  perpetrating 
crime  than  many  others.  The  consequences  of  vice  in 
them  are  apt  to  be  serious,  and  thus  attract  attention  ;  but 
so  far  as  cunning,  foresight,  and  invention  are  called  into 
play,  they  do  not  distinguish  themselves,  and  those  trag- 
edies with  which  their  names  are  associated  seem  to  be 
more  particularly  marked  by  violence,  ferocity,  and  rapid- 
ity of  execution.  Furthermore,  it  is  well  known  that 
cerebral  structure  in  these  species  is  not  of  a  high  type ; 
and  with  regard  to  its  organization  we  know  nothing. 

If  we  now  follow  this  largest  of  game  into  its  native 
haunts,  and  note  those  experiences  by  which  its  pursuit 
is  attended,  what  has  been  said  with  reference  to  the 
habits  and  character  of  elephants  will,  in  the  main,  be 
found  to  rest  upon  good  evidence.  The  outlook  will  be 
quite  different  according  to  where  the  animals  are  found. 
In  India  elephants  live  almost  altogether  in  forests,  while 
in  Africa  this  is  not  the  case.  A  hunter  on  the  "Dark 
Continent"  may  also  ride;  quite  an  advantage  in  escaping 
a  charge,  and  also  in  following  a  beast  who,  when  fright- 
ened, frequently  goes  forty  miles  at  a  stretch.  Dogs  can 


The  Elephant  27 


always  divert  this  creature's  attention  from  the  man  who 
is  about  to  kill  him.  The  barking  of  a  few  curs  about  his 
feet  never  fails  to  make  an  enraged  elephant  forget  the 
object  of  attack. 

Sir  Samuel  Baker  ("Wild  Beasts  and  their  Ways")  and 
Colonel  Pollok  ("  Sport  in  British  Burmah ")  have  de- 
scribed at  length  the  most  vulnerable  points  in  the  body 
and  head,  but  sporting  stories  and  details,  except  in  so  far 
as  they  illustrate  temper  and  traits  of  character,  are  beside 
the  purpose  here.  It  may  be  said,  however,  that  the  fore- 
head shot,  so  constantly  made  in  India,  cannot  be  resorted 
to  with  an  African  elephant.  It  has  been  tried  a  great 
many  times,  and  there  are  only  two  or  three  instances  on 
record  where  the  animal  has  been  killed.  This  is  due  to 
a  difference  of  conformation  in  the  skull,  in  the  position 
of  the  brain,  and  to  the  manner  in  which  this  elephant 
holds  its  head  in  charging,  says  F.  C.  Selous  ("Travel  and 
Adventure  in  South  East  Africa  "). 

Without  going  into  anatomical  details,  it  may  be  said 
that  an  African  is  about  a  foot  taller  than  an  Indian 
elephant,  his  ears  are  much  larger,  his  back  is  concave 
instead  of  convex,  and  the  tusks  are  much  heavier  and 
longer.  Their  position  in  the  jaw  also  differs ;  they  con- 
verge in  passing  backwards  and  upwards  into  the  massive 
processes  in  which  they  are  set,  so  that  their  roots,  and 
the  masses  of  bone  and  cartilage  which  form  their  sockets, 
effectually  protect  the  brain,  which  lies  low  behind  the 
receding  forehead. 

Speaking  of  hunting  on  horseback,  W.  Knighton 
("  Forest  Life  in  Ceylon  ")  mentioned  it  as  a  well-known 


28  Wild  Beasts 


fact  that  "  the  elephant  has  an  antipathy  towards  a  horse." 
"A  solitary  traveller  is  perfectly  safe  while  mounted  "  he 
remarks.  To  the  best  of  the  author's  knowledge  and 
belief,  the  fact  is  directly  the  other  way.  Horses,  until 
accustomed  to  their  sight  and  odor,  fear  elephants,  but 
the  latter  care  nothing  about  them.  They  have  never 
been  known  to  hesitate  in  attacking  hunters  in  the  sad- 
dle. The  Hamran  and  Baggara  Arabs  on  the  Upper 
Nile  and  its  tributaries  nearly  always  meet  them  in  this 
manner.  The  only  weapon  used  by  these  aggageers,  or 
sword-hunters,  is  a  long,  heavy,  sharp,  double-edged 
Solingen  blade.  Three  men  generally  hunt  together,  and 
their  method  of  procedure  shows  how  well  they  know 
the  elephant's  character. 

Having  found  the  fresh  spoor  of  an  old  bull  whose 
tusks  are  presumably  worth  winning,  they  track  it  to 
its  resting  or  feeding  place,  and  approach  with  no  other 
precaution  than  is  necessary  to  keep  their  quarry  from 
taking  refuge  in  some  mimosa  thicket  where  their  swords 
cannot  be  used.  When  possible,  the  animal,  who  appre- 
ciates the  situation  perfectly,  and  knows  all  about  sword- 
hunters,  always  makes  itself  safe  in  that  way.  If  no 
cover  is  within  reach,  the  elephant  backs  up  against  a 
rock,  a  clump  of  bushes,  bank,  or  anything  that  will 
guard  it  in  the  rear,  and  awaits  its  enemies  with  that 
peculiarly  devilish  expression  of  countenance  an  elephant 
wears  when  murderously  inclined.  Supposing  the  agga- 
geers to  be  three  in  number,  and  mounted,  —  two  of  them 
close  slowly  in  upon  his  flanks,  while  the  third  —  the 
lightest  weight,  on  the  most  active  and  best  broken 


The  Elephant  29 


horse  —  gradually  approaches  in  front.  There  stands  the 
elephant  with  cocked  ears  and  gleaming  eyes,  and  the 
Arab  slowly  drawing  nearer,  sits  in  his  saddle  and  re- 
viles him.  Finally,  what  the  Hamrans  or  Baggaras  knew 
from  the  first  would  happen  actually  takes  place.  The 
elephant  forgets  everything,  and  dashes  forward  to  annihi- 
late this  little  wretch  who  has  been  cursing  and  pitching 
pieces  of  dirt  at  him.  Then  the  horse  is  whirled  round, 
and  keeping  just  out  of  reach  of  his  trunk,  its  rider 
lures  the  enraged  animal  on.  As  soon  as  he  starts, 
those  riders  on  his  quarters  swoop  down  at  full  speed, 
and  when  the  one  on  his  left  comes  alongside,  he  springs 
to  the  ground,  bounds  forward,  his  sword  flashes  in  the 
air,  and  all  is  over.  The  foot  turns  up  in  front,  in  con- 
sequence of  cutting  the  tendon  that  keeps  it  in  place, 
and  its  blood  rapidly  drains  away  through  the  divided 
vessels  until  the  animal  dies. 

That  "the  reasoning  elephant,"  of  whom  Vartomannus 
("  Apud  Gesnerum ")  exclaims  in  terms  that  have  been 
repeated  for  nearly  two  thousand  years,  "  Vidi  elephantos 
qiwsdam  qui  prudentiores  mihi  vidabantur  quam  quibus- 
dam  in  locis  hominis"  should  have  thus  relinquished  his 
advantages,  abandoned  an  unassailable  position,  and  know- 
ing the  consequences,  rushed  upon  destruction  in  this 
way,  is  deplorable,  and  the  worst  of  it  is  that  he  always 
does  this.  The  intellect  of  which  Strabo  calmly  asserts 
that  it  "  ad  rationale  animal  proxime  ace  edit"  is  never 
sufficient  to  save  him.  Probably,  however,  this  con- 
duct might  appear  to  be  more  consistent,  if  instead 
of  trusting  to  these  very  classical  but  perfectly  worth- 


30  Wild  Beasts 


less  opinions,  we  looked  upon  it  from  the  standpoint 
which  Sanderson's  description  affords.  "Though  pos- 
sessed of  a  proboscis  which  is  capable  of  guarding 
it  against  such  dangers,  the  elephant  readily  falls  into 
pits  dug  to  receive  it,  and  which  are  only  covered  with 
a  few  sticks  and  leaves.  Its  fellows  make  no  effort  (in 
general)  to  assist  the  fallen  one,  as  they  might  easily  do 
by  kicking  in  the  earth  around  the  edge,  but  fly  in  terror. 
It  commonly  happens  that  a  young  elephant  tumbles  into 
a  pit,  near  which  its  mother  will  remain  till  the  hunters 
come,  without  doing  anything  to  help  it ;  not  even  feed- 
ing it  by  throwing  in  a  few  branches.  .  .  .  Whole  herds 
of  elephants  are  led  into  enclosures  which  they  could 
break  through  as  easily  as  if  they  were  made  of  corn 
stalks  .  .  .  and  which  no  other  wild  animal  would  enter ; 
and  single  ones  are  caught  by  their  hind  legs  being  tied 
together  by  men  under  cover  of  tame  elephants.  Ani- 
mals that  happen  to  escape  are  captured  again  without 
trouble ;  even  experience  does  not  bring  them  wisdom. 
I  do  not  think  that  I  traduce  the  elephant,  when  I  say 
that  it  is,  in  many  things,  a  stupid  animal." 

Baldwin,  Harris,  and  a  few  other  authorities,  report 
that  elephants  are  sometimes  attacked  by  the  black  rhi- 
noceros, but  otherwise  they  have  no  foes  except  man. 
In  Sir  James  Alexander's  account  ("  Excursion  into 
Africa")  of  the  manner  in  which  these  beasts  attempt 
to  defend  themselves  against  the  charge  of  an  enemy 
of  this  kind,  it  is  implied  that  the  trunk  is  habitually 
used  offensively.  "In  fighting  the  elephant,"  he  ob- 
serves, the  two-horned  black  rhinoceros,  for  no  white 


The  Elephant  31 


rhinoceros  ever  does  this,  "avoids  the  blow  with  its 
trunk  and  the  thrust  with  its  tusks,  dashes  at  the  ele- 
phant's belly,  and  rips  it  up."  Quite  a  number  of  writers 
have  derided  and  denied  statements  of  this  nature, 
and  if  it  were  not  that  they  have  likewise  scouted  every- 
thing which  they  did  not  see  themselves,  their  dissent 
might  have  more  weight  than  it  has.  Everybody  knows 
that  the  species  of  rhinoceros  spoken  of  are  of  all  wild 
beasts  the  most  irritable,  aggressive,  and  blindly  fero- 
cious ;  that  they  will,  as  Selous  asserts,  "  charge  anybody 
or  anything."  Apart  from  the  question  whether  this 
kind  of  combat  ever  takes  place,  or  what  the  result  would 
be  if  it  did,  so  many  reasons  exist  why  the  trunk  should 
not  be  used  like  a  flail,  as  here  represented,  that  good  ob- 
servers have  failed  to  recognize  the  fact  that  it  sometimes 
is  so  employed.  At  all  events,  in  face  of  various  asser- 
tions to  the  effect  that  it  never  strikes  with  its  trunk,  we 
find  Andersson  nearly  killed  in  this  manner.  He  was 
shooting  from  a  "skarm";  that  is  to  say,  a  trench  about 
four  feet  deep,  twelve  or  fifteen  long,  and  strongly  roofed 
except  at  the  ends.  This  hiding-place  and  fortification 
occupied  "  a  narrow  neck  of  land  dividing  two  small 
pools" — the  water-holes  of  Kabis  in  Africa.  "It  was 
a  magnificent  moonlight  night,"  and  the  hunter  soon 
heard  the  beasts  coming  along  a  rocky  ravine  near  by. 
Directly,  "  an  immense  elephant  followed  by  the  towering 
forms  of  eighteen  other  bulls  "  moved  down  from  high 
ground  towards  his  hiding  place,  "with  free,  sweeping, 
unsuspecting,  and  stately  step."  In  the  luminous  mist 
their  colossal  figures  assumed  gigantic  proportions,  "  but 


32  Wild  Beasts 


the  leader's  position  did  not  afford  an  opportunity 
for  the  shoulder  shot,"  and  Andersson  waited  until  his 
"enormous  bulk"  actually  towered  above  his  head,  with- 
out firing.  "The  consequence  was,"  he  says  "that  in  the 
act  of  raising  the  muzzle  of  my  rifle  over  the  skarm, 
my  body  caught  his  eye,  and  before  I  could  place  the 
piece  to  my  shoulder,  he  swung  himself  round,  and  with 
trunk  elevated,  and  ears  spread,  desperately  charged  me. 
It  was  now  too  late  to  think  of  flight,  much  less  of  slay- 
ing the  savage  beast.  My  own  life  was  in  the  most 
imminent  jeopardy ;  and  seeing  that  if  I  remained  partially 
erect  he  would  inevitably  seize  me  with  his  proboscis, 
I  threw  myself  upon  my  back  with  some  violence  ;  in 
which  position,  and  without  shouldering  the  rifle,  I  fired 
upwards  at  random  towards  his  chest,  uttering  at  the 
same  time  the  most  piercing  shouts  and  cries.  The 
change  of  position  in  all  probability  saved  my  life ;  for 
at  the  same  instant,  the  enraged  animal's  trunk  descended 
precisely  upon  the  spot  where  I  had  been  previously 
crouched,  sweeping  away  the  stones  (many  of  them  of 
large  size)  that  formed  the  front  of  my  skarm,  as  if  they 
had  been  pebbles.  In  another  moment  his  broad  fore- 
foot passed  directly  over  my  face."  Confused,  as  Anders- 
son  supposed,  by  his  cries,  and  by  the  wound  he  had 
received,  the  elephant  "  swerved  to  the  left,  and  went 
off  with  considerable  rapidity." 

Of  course,  taking  this  narrative  literally,  it  may  be  said 
that  it  is  not  an  illustration  of  the  point  under  discussion 
—  that  the  elephant  attempted  to  catch  the  man  first,  in 
order  to  kill  him  afterwards.  But  prehensile  organs  are 


The  Elephant  33 


not  used  as  such  in  the  way  described.  That  Andersson 
was  about  to  be  seized  was  purely  suppositious  upon  his 
part,  while  the  descent  of  the  elephant's  proboscis,  with 
such  violence  that  it  swept  away  large  stones  as  if  they 
had  been  pebbles,  was  a  matter  of  fact.  The  animal  did 
strike,  whether  he  intended  to  do  so  or  not,  and  that  this 
was  not  his  intention  is  merely  a  guess.  This  story  illus- 
trates other  traits  also,  and  among  these  the  alleged  fear 
of  man.  "  An  implanted  instinct  of  that  kind,"  observes 
William  J.  Burchell  ("  Travels  into  the  Interior  of  South- 
ern Africa  ")  "  such  as  all  wild  beasts  have,  their  timid- 
ity and  submission,  form  part  of  that  wise  plan  predeter- 
mined by  the  Deity,  for  giving  supreme  power  to  him  who 
is,  physically,  the  weakest  of  them  all."  The  only  objec- 
tion to  this  very  orthodox  statement  is  that  it  is  not  true. 
Man  is  not  weaker  than  many  wild  animals,  and  so  far  as 
"timidity  and  submission"  go,  he  might  have  found  Afri- 
can tribes  barricading  their  villages  and  sleeping  in  trees 
for  no  other  purpose  than  to  keep  out  of  their  way.  Cau- 
tion proceeds  from  apprehension,  and  this  from  an  experi- 
ence of  peril.  When  the  conditions  of  existence  are  such 
that  certain  dangers  persist,  wariness  in  those  directions 
originates  and  becomes  hereditary.  Man  has  been  the 
elephant's  constant  foe,  and  in  those  places  where  human 
beings  were  able  to  destroy  them,  these  animals  were 
overawed ;  but  otherwise  not,  or  at  least,  certainly  not 
in  the  sense  in  which  this  assertion  is  generally  made. 
With  regard  to  the  conclusions  —  many  of  them  directly 
contradictory  —  which  prevail  concerning  the  elephant's 
sense  of  smell,  there  are  several  circumstances  which 


34  Wild  Beasts 


ought  to  be  taken  into  consideration,  but  with  the 
exception  of  currents  of  air,  they  have  not  been  noticed 
to  the  author's  knowledge.  Scent  in  an  elephant  is  very 
acute,  and  the  scope  of  this  sense,  as  well  as  its  delicacy 
and  discrimination,  is  greater  than  in  most  animals.  At 
the  same  time,  the  nervous  energy  that  vitalizes  this  ap- 
paratus is  variable  in  quantity,  and  never  exceeds  a  defi- 
nite amount  at  any  one  time.  If  wind  sweeps  away  those 
emanations  which  would  otherwise  have  stimulated  the 
olfactories,  no  result  occurs,  and  precisely  the  same  con- 
sequence follows  a  diversion  of  nerve  force  into  other 
channels. 

Many  accounts  have  been  given  in  which  this 
seemed  to  be  the  cause  of  an  unconsciousness  that  was 
explained  by  saying  that  the  sense  itself  was  in  fault. 
Evidently,  however,  when  the  energy  through  which  an 
organ  acts  is  fully  employed  in  carrying  on  action  some- 
where else,  its  function  must  be  temporarily  checked. 
Preoccupation,  however,  fully  accounts  for  the  phenomenon. 
Thought,  feeling,  concentrations  of  attention,  physical  and 
mental  oscillations  of  many  kinds,  perturb,  check,  pervert, 
augment,  or  diminish  function  in  this  and  other  directions. 
If  we  cannot  accustom  ourselves  to  looking  upon  wild 
beasts  as  acting  consciously  and  voluntarily,  it  seems 
probable  that  little  progress  towards  understanding  their 
habits  and  characters  is  likely  to  be  made. 

How,  for  example,  are  the  following  facts  related  by 
Gordon  Gumming,  to  be  reconciled  with  conventional 
opinions  upon  the  shyness  and  timidity  of  elephants,  their 
fear  of  man,  and  the  possession  of  instincts  which  act 


The  Elephant  35 


independently  of  experience.  It  was  in  comparatively 
early  times  that  these  events  took  place,  before  many 
Europeans  with  rifles  had  gone  into  Africa,  and  when 
elephants  knew  less  about  firearms  than  they  did  when 
the  big  tusker  nearly  finished  Andersson.  "Three 
princely  bulls,"  says  Colonel  Cumming,  "came  up  one 
night  to  the  fountain  of  La  Bono."  They  knew  that  a 
man  was  there,  for  they  had  got  his  wind.  It  is  pos- 
sible that  they  also  knew  he  was  not  a  native,  but  if 
this  were  the  case,  that  was  all  that  they  knew. 

The  leader  was  mortally  wounded  at  about  ten  paces 
from  the  water,  went  off  two  hundred  yards,  "and  there 
stood,  evidently  dying."  His  companions  paused,  "but 
soon  one  of  them,  the .  largest  of  the  three,  turned  his 
head  towards  the  fountain  once  more,  and  very  slowly 
and  warily  came  on."  At  this  moment  the  wounded  ele- 
phant "uttered  the  cry  of  death  and  fell  heavily  to  the 
ground."  The  second  one,  still  advancing,  "examined 
with  his  trunk  every  yard  of  ground  before  he  trod  on 
it."  Evidently  there  was  no  dancing,  screaming  horde  of 
negroes  with  assegais  about ;  equally  sure  was  it  that 
danger  threatened  from  human  devices,  and  the  elephant, 
not  being  inspired  as  is  commonly  supposed,  was  looking 
for  the  only  peril  he  knew  anything  about ;  that  is  to  say, 
a  pit-fall.  As  for  the  explosion  and  flash,  these  most 
probably  were  mistaken  for  thunder  and  lightning.  In 
this  manner,  and  with  frequent  pauses,  this  animal  went 
round  "three  sides  of  the  fountain,  and  then  walked  up 
to  within  six  or  seven  yards  of  the  muzzles  of  the  guns." 
He  was  shot  and  disabled  at  the  water's  edge.  By  this 


36  Wild  Beasts 


time  ignited  wads  from  the  pieces  discharged  had  set  fire 
to  a  bunch  of  stubble  near  by,  and  two  more  old  bulls 
who  followed  the  original  band,  went  up  to  the  blaze  ; 
one,  the  older  and  larger,  appearing  to  be  "much  amused 
at  it."  This  tusker  staggered  off  with  a  mortal  wound, 
and  another  came  forward  and  stood  still  to  drink  within 
half  pistol-shot  of  Colonel  Cumming,  who  killed  him. 
Three  more  male  elephants  now  made  their  appearance, 
"first  two,  and  then  one,"  and  of  these  two  were  shot, 
though  only  one  of  them  fatally.  What  possible  explana- 
tion can  the  doctrine  of  instinct  give  of  such  behavior 
as  this  upon  the  part  of  wild  beasts  ?  How  does  this  kind 
of  conduct  accord  with  the  idea  of  a  ready-made  mind 
that  does  not  need  to  learn  in  order  to  know  ?  In  what 
manner  shall  we  adjust  such  conduct  to  preconceptions 
concerning  natural  timidity  and  that  implanted  fear  of 
man  "predetermined  by  the  Deity"?  It  may  be  said, 
of  course,  that  Colonel  Cumming's  account  was  over- 
drawn ;  but  the  reply  to  an  objection  of  this  kind  is  that, 
overwhelming  evidence  to  the  same  effect  could  be  easily 
produced. 

When  an  observant  visitor  walks  along  the  line  of  plat- 
forms in  an  Indian  elephant-stable,  the  differences  exhib- 
ited by  its  occupants  can  scarcely  fail  to  attract  attention  ; 
and  with  every  increase  in  his  knowledge,  these  diversi- 
ties accumulate  in  number  and  augment  in  importance. 
During  the  free  intercourse  of  forest  life,  some  influence, 
most  probably  sexual  selection,  has  produced  breeds  whose 
characteristics  are  unmistakable.  Even  the  uninitiated 
may  at  once  recognize  these.  Koomeriah,  Dwasala,  and 


The  Elephant  37 


Meerga  elephants  exhibit  marked  contrasts,  and  experi- 
ence has  taught  Europeans  their  respective  values.  The 
first  is  the  best  proportioned,  bravest,  and  most  tractable 
specimen  of  its  kind;  but  it  is  rare.  Intermediate  be- 
tween the  thoroughbred  and  an  ugly,  "weedy,"  and  in 
every  way  ill-conditioned  Meerga,  comes  what  is  called 
the  Dwasala  breed,  to  which  about  seventy  per  cent  of  all 
elephants  in  Asia  belong.  "Whole  herds,"  says  Sander- 
son, "frequently  consist  of  Dwasalas,  but  never  of  Koo- 
meriahs."  Almost  all  animals  used  in  hunting  are  of 
this  middle  class,  and  they  constitute  by  far  the  largest 
division  of  those  kept  by  the  government.  Females 
greatly  outnumber  males,  and  it  may  be  owing  to  this 
fact  that  so  many  have  been  used  in  the  pursuit  of  large 
game,  although  some  famous  sportsmen  maintain  that 
these  are  naturally  more  courageous  and  stancher  than 
tuskers. 

Great  as  are  the  unlikenesses  seen  among  inmates  of 
an  establishment  like  that  at  Teperah,  they  will  be  found 
to  be  fully  equalled  by  their  dissimilarities  in  character ; 
and  those  who  have  become  familiar  with  elephants  come 
to  see  that  their  dispositions  and  intelligence  are  to  some 
extent  displayed  by  their  ordinary  demeanor  and  looks. 
It  is  wonderful  how  much  facial  expression  an  elephant 
has.  The  face-skeleton  is  imperfect ;  that  is  to  say,  its 
nasal  bones  are  rudimentary,  while  the  mouth,  and  in  fact 
all  of  the  lower  half  of  the  face,  is  concealed  beneath  the 
great  muscles  attached  to  the  base  of  the  trunk.  But  in 
spite  of  that,  and  with  his  ears  uncocked  and  his  proboscis 
pendant,  an  elephant's  countenance  is  full  of  character. 


38  Wild  Beasts 


Passing  along  the  lines  where  they  stand,  shackled  by 
one  foot  to  stone  platforms,  one  sees,  or  learns  to  see, 
the  individualities  their  visages  reveal.  Occasionally  a 
heavily-fettered  animal  is  met  with,  whose  mien  is  dis- 
turbed and  fierce.  In  his  "  little  twinkling  red  eye,"  says 
Campbell,  "gleams  the  fire  of  madness."  He  is  "must "  ; 
the  victim  of  a  temporary  delirium  which  seems  to  arise 
from  keeping  male  elephants  apart  from  their  mates.  But 
at  length,  amid  all  the  appearances  of  sullenness,  good 
nature,  stupidity,  bad  temper,  apathy,  alertness,  and  intelli- 
gence, which  the  visitor  will  encounter,  a  creature  is  met 
with  in  whose  ensemble  there  is  an  indescribable  but 
unmistakable  warning.  Go  to  his  keeper  and  state  your 
views.  That  "true  believer,"  if  he  happens  to  be  a  Mus- 
sulman, having  salaamed  in  proportion  to  his  expected 
bucksheesh,  and  said  that  Solomon  was  a  fool  in  com- 
parison with  yourself,  will  then  express  his  own  senti- 
ments but  not  so  that  the  animal  can  hear  him.  These 
are  to  the  effect  that  this  elephant  is  an  oppressor  of  the 
poor,  a  dog,  a  devil,  an  infidel,  whose  female  relations  to 
the  remotest  generations  have  been  no  better  than  they 
should  be.  That  the  kafir  wants  to  kill  him ;  is  thinking 
about  doing  it  at  that  moment,  but  Ul-humd-ul-illa,  praise 
be  to  God,  has  not  had  a  chance ;  though  if  it  be  his 
destiny,  he  will  do  so  some  day.  Very  probably  these  are 
not  empty  words.  Most  frequently  the  man  knows  what 
he  is  talking  about.  Still  if  one  naturally  asks,  why  then 
he  stays  in  such  a  position,  the  answer  breathes  the  very 
genius  and  spirit  of  the  East.  "Who  can  escape  his 
destiny  ? "  asks  the  idiotic  fatalist,  and  remains  where 
he  is. 


The  Elephant  39 


The  systems  of  rewards  and  punishments  by  which  dis- 
cipline is  kept  up  in  a  large  elephant  stable,  affords  sev- 
eral items  of  interest  with  respect  to  the  character  of  these 
beasts.  If,  as  sometimes  is  the  case,  an  elephant  shirks 
his  work,  or  does  it  wrong  on  purpose,  is  mutinous,  stub- 
born, or  mischievous,  a  couple  of  his  comrades  are  pro- 
vided with  a  fathom  or  two  of  light  chain  with  which  they 
soundly  thrash  the  delinquent,  very  much  to  his  tempo- 
rary improvement.  This  race  is  very  fond  of  sweets,  and 
sugar-cane  or  goor  —  unrefined  sugar  —  forms  an  efficient 
bribe  to  good  behavior.  The  animals  take  to  drink  very 
kindly,  and  when  their  accustomed  ration  of  rum  has  been 
stopped  for  misconduct,  they  truly  repent.  Mostly,  how- 
ever, elephants  are  quiet,  kindly  beasts,  and  it  is  said  by 
those  who  ought  to  know,  that  animosity  is  not  apt  to  be 
cherished  against  men  who  correct  them  for  faults  of 
which  they  are  themselves  conscious.  At  the  same  time, 
nobody,  if  he  is  wise,  gives  an  elephant  cause  to  think 
himself  injured.  Very  often  the  creature  entertains  this 
idea  without  cause,  and  it  is  not  uncommon  for  them  to 
conceive  hatreds  almost  at  first  sight.  D'Ewes  ("Sport- 
ing in  Both  Hemispheres  ")  relates  one  of  the  many  re- 
liable incidents  illustrative  of  the  animal's  implacability 
when  aggrieved.  A  friend  of  his,  a  field  officer  stationed 
at  Jaulnah,  owned  an  elephant  remarkable  for  its  "extreme 
docility."  One  of  the  attendants  —  "not  his  mahout"  — 
ill-treated  the  creature  in  some  way  and  was  discharged  in 
consequence.  This  man  left  the  station ;  but  six  years 
after  he,  unfortunately  for  himself,  returned,  and  walked 
up  to  renew  his  acquaintance  with  the  abused  brute,  who 


4O  Wild  Beasts 


let  him  approach  without  giving  the  least  indication  of 
anger,  and  as  soon  as  he  was  close  enough,  trampled  him 
to  death.  This  is  the  kind  of  anecdote  which  Professor 
Robinson  remarks  is  "infinitely  discreditable  to  the 
elephant " ;  that  fact,  however,  has  nothing  to  do  with 
the  truth.  All  those  good  qualities  the  creature  possesses 
can  be  done  justice  to  without  making  any  excursions  into 
sentimental  zoology.  Captain  A.  W.  Drayson  ("  Sporting 
Scenes  in  Southern  Africa")  asserts  that  "the  elephant 
stands  very  high  among  the  class  of  wild  animals."  That 
means  nothing  ;  affords  no  help  to  those  who  are  trying  to 
find  out  how  high  it  stands.  Sir  Samuel  Baker  ("Wild 
Beasts  and  their  Ways  ")  gives  his  opinion  more  at  length. 
Of  the  animal's  sagacity  he  observes  that  it  is,  according 
to  his  ideas,  "overrated.  No  elephant,"  he  says,  "that  I 
ever  saw,  would  spontaneously  interfere  to  save  his  mas- 
ter from  drowning  or  from  attack.  .  .  .  An  enemy  might 
assassinate  you  at  the  feet  of  your  favorite  elephant,  but 
he  would  never  attempt  to  interfere  in  your  defence ;  he 
would  probably  run  away,  or,  if  not,  remain  impassive,  un- 
less especially  ordered  or  guided  by  his  mahout.  This  is 
incontestible.  ...  It  is  impossible  for  an  ordinary  by- 
stander to  comprehend  the  secret  signs  which  are  mu- 
tually understood  by  the  elephant  and  his  guide."  Baker 
holds,  with  others  who  have  really  studied  elephants,  that 
when  they  evince  any  special  sagacity,  it  is  because  they 
act  under  direction,  and  that  if  left  to  themselves  they 
usually  do  the  wrong  thing.  The  species  is  naturally  ner- 
vous, and  this  disability  is  increased  by  those  alterations 
in  its  way  of  life  that  domestication  involves.  Captivity 


The  Elephant  41 


likewise  shortens  its  existence.  Profound  physiological 
changes  are  thus  produced,  the  most  noticeable  of  which 
are  barrenness,  great  capriciousness  of  appetite,  enfeeble- 
ment  of  the  digestive  functions,  and  a  marked  vice  of  nu- 
trition by  which  an  animal  that  recovers  from  injuries  the 
most  severe  in  its  wild  state  now  finds  every  trifling  hurt 
a  serious  matter,  and  often  dies  from  accidents  that  would 
otherwise  have  been  of  little  moment.  In  the  same  cate- 
gory must  also  be  ranked  the  decreased  endurance  of  tame 
elephants.  The  Asiatic  species  is  much  inferior  to  the 
African  in  this  respect,  by  nature,  but  both  sensibly  de- 
teriorate in  this  way  when  domesticated. 

There  is  nothing  to  show  that  the  African  elephant  is 
worse  tempered  than  the  Asiatic.  It  has  never  been  re- 
claimed by  the  natives,  and  that  fact  no  doubt  has  given 
rise  to  the  opinion.  In  the  Carthaginian,  Numidian,  and 
Roman  provinces,  this  species  was  made  use  of  very  much 
as  the  other  is  now  in  India,  and  most  if  not  all  the  famous 
homicidal  elephants  we  know  of,  belonged  to  the  latter 
country.  But  it  would  appear  that  a  "rogue,"  properly  so 
called,  requires  peculiar  conditions  under  which  to  develop. 
"  Rogue  elephants,"  says  Drummond,  "  are  rare  ;  indeed,  it 
seems  to  me  that  it  is  necessary  for  the  full  formation  of. 
that  amiable  animal's  character  that  it  should  inhabit  a 
well-populated  district  where  continual  opportunities  are 
afforded  for  attacking  defenceless  people,  of  breaking  into 
their  fields,  and,  in  general,  of  losing  its  natural  respect  for 
hitman  beings ;  and  as  such  conditions  seldom  exist  in 
Africa,  from  the  elephant  chiefly  inhabiting  districts  devoid 
of  population  on  account  of  their  unhealthiness,  the  rogue, 


42  Wild  Beasts 


properly  so  called,  is  seldom  met  with,  though  the  solitary 
bull,  the  same  animal  in  an  earlier  stage,  is  common  enough." 

Drummond,  it  will  be  observed,  clings  to  the  superstition 
of  man's  recognized  primacy  in  nature ;  and  if  he  had  de- 
clared that  his  appointment  to  this  position  was  handed 
down  by  tradition  among  elephants  from  the  time  of  Adam 
and  the  garden  of  Eden,  the  absurdity  could  scarcely  be 
greater.  In  what  possible  way  can  a  wild  beast  that  has 
not  been  hunted  know  anything  about  a  man,  except  that 
he  is  an  unaccountable-looking  little  creature,  who  walks 
like  a  bird,  and  has  a  very  singular  odor  ? 

A  rogue  who  infested  the  Balaghat  District  is  described 
by  Baker  as  a  captured  elephant  who  after  a  considerable 
detention  escaped  to  the  forest  again.  "  Domestication," 
he  remarks,  "  seems  to  have  sharpened  its  intellect  and 
exaggerated  its  powers  of  mischief  and  cunning.  .  .  . 
There  was  an  actual  love  of  homicide  in  this  animal."  He 
continually  changed  place,  so  that  no  one  could  foretell  his 
whereabouts,  and  approached  those  whom  he  intended  to 
destroy  with  such  fatal  skill  that  they  never  suspected  his 
presence  until  it  was  too  late.  He  made  the  public  roads 
impassable.  By  day  and  night  the  inhabitants  of  villages 
lying  far  apart  heard  the  screams  which  accompanied  his 
attack,  and  immediately  this  monster  was  in  the  midst  of 
them,  killing  men,  women,  and  children.  At  length  Colonel 
Bloomfield,  aided  by  the  whole  population,  succeeded  in 
hunting  the  beast  down.  "  Maddened  by  pursuit  and 
wounds,  he  turned  to  charge,"  and  as  he  lowered  his  trunk 
when  closing,  a  heavy  rifle  ball  struck  him  in  the  depres- 
sion just  above  its  base,  and  he  fel)  dead. 


The  Elephant  43 


Cunning  as  this  elephant  was,  his  actions  displayed  that 
lack  of  inventiveness  which  Sanderson  charges  against  the 
race ;  and  this  defect  saved  the  lives  of  many  who  would 
otherwise  have  been  killed.  If  any  one  was  out  of  reach  in 
a  small  tree,  the  rogue  never  thought  of  getting  at  him  by 
shaking  its  trunk.  Both  Sir  Samuel  and  Captain  R.  N.  G. 
Baker  report  having  seen  an  elephant  butt  at  a  Balanites 
Egyptiaca  when  it  was  three  feet  in  diameter,  so  that  a 
man  "must  have  held  on  exceedingly  tight  to  avoid  a  fall." 
It  is  certain/that  these  animals  are  accustomed  to  dislodge 
various  edibles  by  this  means.  But  a  change  in  circum- 
stances prevented  the  Balaghat  brute  from  resorting  to  a 
well-known  act  which  would  have  lengthened  considerably 
the  list  of  his  victims. 

Places  in  Africa  where  elephants  once  abounded  now 
contain  none.  They  are  less  subject  to  epidemics  than 
many  species,  but  suffer  from  climatic  disorders  and  the 
attacks  of  parasites.  This,  however,  is  not  the  reason 
for  their  disappearance  from  certain  localities.  They 
have  fallen  before  firearms,  or  migrated  in  fear  of 
them.  "From  my  own  observation,"  says  Baker,  "I 
have  concluded  that  wild  animals  of  all  kinds  will  with- 
stand the  dangers  of  traps,  pit-falls,  fire,  and  the  usual 
methods  employed  for  their  destruction  by  savages,  but 
will  be  speedily  cleared  out  of  an  extensive  district  by 
firearms." 

A  field  naturalist  coming  from  Africa  to  India,  or  any 
other  part  of  Asia,  would  be  at  once  struck  by  the  inferior 
size,  darker  color,  smaller  ears,  less  massive  tusks  (rudimen- 
tary in  the  female),  and  other  structural  differences  pre- 


44  Wild  Beasts 


sented  by  Elephas  Indicus.  Likewise,  with  the  forest  life, 
browsing  habits,  and  nocturnal  ways  of  this  species, 
"there  is  little  doubt  that  there  is  not  an  elephant  ten 
feet  high  at  the  shoulder  in  India,"  says  Sanderson.  If  a 
stranger  took  to  elephant-hunting,  his  opinion  of  their 
character  in  that  country  would  probably  depend  upon  the 
escapes  he  made  from  being  killed.  There  is,  however, 
something  yet  to  be  said  upon  the  subject  of  Asiatic  rogues 
that,  so  far  as  the  author  is  aware,  has  escaped  the  atten- 
tion of  those  who  have  described  them.  Such  creatures  as 
those  of  Kakankota,  Balaghat,  Jubbulpur,  and  the  Begapore 
canal,  are  extremely  exceptional,  if  what  they  actually  did 
be  alone  considered,  but  there  is  nothing  to  show  that 
they  were  very  extraordinary  in  temper  or  traits  of  char- 
acter. The  first  seems  to  have  been  undoubtedly  insane ; 
the  others,  however,  gave  no  indications  of  mental  aliena- 
tion. They  were  simply  vicious  like  great  numbers  of 
their  kind,  and  the  accidents  of  life  enabled  them  to  show 
it  more  conspicuously  than  is  often  the  case.  Whatever 
may  be  thought  of  the  influence  of  descent  in  these  in- 
stances, it  is  certain  that  a  criminal  class  cannot  develop 
itself  among  elephants,  and  that  those  murderous  brutes 
referred  to,  do  not  stand  alone. 

Colonel  Pollok  ("Natural  History  Notes")  gives  a  re- 
port extracted  from  the  records  in  the  Adjutant  General's 
Office,  that  brings  out  several  points  relating  to  the  char- 
acter of  vicious  elephants.  The  statements  made  seem  to 
be  incredible,  but  those  who  have  made  a  study  of  the 
subject  will  recall  many  examples  of  desperation,  tenacity 
of  life,  and  ferocity  in  elephants,  that  may  serve  to  modify 


The  Elephant  45 


doubt ;  more  especially  in  connection  with  the  effects  of 
wounds  in  the  head,  which  is  so  formed  that  half  of  it 
might  be  shot  away  without  an  animal  suffering  otherwise 
than  from  shock  and  loss  of  blood. 

To  C.  SEALY,  Magistrate,  etc. 

Sir :  —  I  have  the  honor  to  state  that  on  the  24th  instant,  at  mid- 
night, I  received  information  that  two  elephants  of  very  uncommon 
size  had  made  their  appearance  within  a  few  hundred  yards  of  the 
cantonment  and  close  to  the  village,  the  inhabitants  of  which  were  in 
the  greatest  alarm.  I  lost  no  time  in  despatching  to  the  place  all  the 
public  and  private  elephants  we  had  in  pursuit  of  them,  and  at  day- 
break on  the  25th,  was  informed  that  their  very  superior  size  and 
apparent  fierceness  had  rendered  all  attempts  at  their  seizure  unavail- 
ing; and  that  the  most  experienced  mahout  I  had  was  dangerously 
hurt  —  the  elephant  he  rode  having  been  struck  to  the  ground  by  one 
of  the  wild  ones,  which,  with  its  companion,  had  then  adjourned  to  a 
large  sugar-cane  field  adjoining  the  village.  I  immediately  ordered  the 
guns  (a  section  of  a  light  battery)  to  this  place,  but  wishing  in  the 
first  place,  to  try  every  means  for  catching  the  animals,  I  assembled 
the  inhabitants  of  the  neighborhood,  and  with  the  assistance  of  the 
resident  Rajah  caused  two  deep  pits  to  be  prepared  at  the  edge  of 
the  cane  field  in  which  our  elephants  and  the  people  contrived,  with 
the  utmost  dexterity,  to  retain  the  wild  ones  during  the  day.  When 
these  pits  were  reported  ready,  we  repaired  to  the  spot,  and  they  were 
cleverly  driven  into  them.  But,  unfortunately,  one  of  the  pits  did  not 
prove  to  be  sufficiently  deep,  and  the  one  who  escaped  from  it,  in  the 
presence  of  many  witnesses,  assisted  his  companion  out  of  the  other 
pit  with  his  trunk.  Both  were,  however,  with  much  exertion,  brought 
back  into  the  cane,  and  as  no  particular  symptoms  of  vice  or  fierceness 
had  appeared  in  the  course  of  the  day,  I  was  anxious  to  make  another 
effort  to  capture  them.  The  beldars,  therefore,  were  set  to  work  to 
deepen  the  old  and  prepare  new  pits  against  daybreak,  when  I  pro- 
posed to  make  the  final  attempt.  About  four  o'clock  yesterday,  how- 
ever, they  burst  through  all  my  guards,  and  making  for  a  village  about 
three  miles  distant,  reached  it  with  such  rapidity  that  the  horsemen 
who  galloped  before  them,  had  not  time  to  apprise  the  inhabitants  of 


46  Wild  Beasts 


their  danger,  and  I  regret  to  say  that  one  poor  man  was  torn  limb  from 
limb,  a  child  trodden  to  death,  and  two  women  hurt.  Their  destruc- 
tion now  became  absolutely  necessary,  and  as  they  showed  no  dispo- 
sition to  quit  the  village  where  their  mischief  had  been  done,  we 
had  time  to  bring  up  the  four-pound  pieces  of  artillery  [these  events 
took  place  in  1809]  from  which  they  received  several  rounds,  both 
ball  and  abundance  of  grape.  The  larger  of  the  two  was  soon  brought 
to  the  ground  by  a  round  shot  in  the  head ;  but  after  remaining  there 
about  a  quarter  of  an  hour,  apparently  lifeless,  he  got  up  again  as 
vigorous  as  ever,  and  the  desperation  of  both  at  this  period  exceeds  all 
description.  They  made  repeated  charges  on  the  guns,  and  if  it  had 
not  been  for  the  uncommon  bravery  and  steadiness  of  the  artillery- 
men, who  more  than  once  turned  them  off  with  shots  in  the  head  and 
body  when  within  a  very  few  paces  of  them,  many  dreadful  casualties 
must  have  occurred.  We  were  obliged  to  desist  for  want  of  ammuni- 
tion, and  before  a  fresh  supply  could  be  obtained,  the  animals  quitted 
the  village,  and  though  streaming  with  blood  from  a  hundred  wounds, 
proceeded  with  a  rapidity  I  had  no  idea  of  towards  Hazarebaugh.  They 
were  at  length  brought  up  by  the  horsemen  and  our  elephants,  within 
a  short  distance  of  a  crowded  bazaar,  and  ultimately,  after  many  re- 
newals of  most  formidable  and  ferocious  attacks  on  the  guns,  gave  up 
the  contest  with  their  lives. 

The  western  half  of  those  central  Indian  highlands 
called  locally  the  Mykal,  Mahadeo,  and  Satpura  hills,  is 
a  famous  haunt  for  elephants.  In  this  wild  birthplace  of  the 
streams  that  pour  themselves  into  the  Bay  of  Bengal  and 
the  Arabian  Gulf,  these  creatures  wander  in  comparative 
security.  The  Gond,  K61,  and  Santal  aborigines  furnish 
the  best  trackers  extant,  except,  perhaps,  those  myste- 
rious Byga  or  Bhumia,  whose  knowledge  of  woodcraft  is 
unequalled.  These  small,  dark,  silent  men  have  no  sort 
of  respect  for  an  elephant's  mind  or  character,  but  they 
worship  it  from  fear  ;  they  adore  the  animal  because  they 
know  enough  of  its  disposition  to  be  always  apprehensive 
of  its  doing  more  than  it  generally  does. 


The  Elephant  47 


Most  of  these  great  timber  districts  are  under  the  super- 
vision of  officers,  and  the  camps  of  their  parties  are  widely 
scattered  through  large  and  lonely  tracts  of  woodland.  If 
one  of  these  is  come  upon  by  a  herd  of  elephants  while  its 
occupants  are  absent,  a  striking  trait  in  this  creature's 
character  will  almost  surely  be  exhibited.  No  monkey  is 
more  mischievous  than  one  of  these  big  brutes,  and  when 
the  men  return  they  probably  find  that  nothing  which  could 
be  displaced,  marred,  or  broken,  has  escaped  their  attention. 
Elephants  are  also  very  curious;  anything  unusual  is  apt 
to  attract  them,  and  if  they  do  not  become  alarmed  at  it, 
the  gravity  with  which  a  novel  object  is  examined,  and 
the  queer,  awkward  way  in  which  these  beasts  mani- 
fest interest  or  amusement,  is  singular  enough.  Some- 
times their  performances  under  the  incitement  of  curiosity 
or  malicious  mischief  are  decidedly  unpleasant.  A  wild 
elephant  came  out  of  the  woods  one  night  and  pawed  a 
hole  in  the  side  of  Sanderson's  tent.  Hornaday  says  he 
made  a  little  door  in  the  wall  at  the  head  of  his  bed,  so 
that  he  could  bolt  at  once  in  case  of  a  visitation  like  this. 
People  living  in  such  places,  and  in  frail  houses,  are  ex- 
posed to  another  contingency.  Elephants  are  very  sub- 
ject to  panics,  and  as  they  often  arise  from  causes  that 
should  not  disturb  such  a  creature  at  all,  no  one  can  tell 
when  a  herd  may  not  rush  off  together,  and  go  screaming 
through  the  wood,  breaking  down  everything  but  the  big 
trees  before  them. 

Sooner  or  later,  a  hunting  party's  progress  will  be  ar- 
rested by  the  halt  of  their  guide :  he  crouches  down  in 
his  tracks  and  looks  intently,  as  it  appears,  at  nothing. 


48  Wild  Beasts 


What  he  sees  would  be  nothing  to  eyes  less  practised,  but 
it  is  an  elephant's  spoor.  If  one  were  in  Africa,  the 
trackers  would  now  smooth  off  a  little  spot  of  ground, 
make  a  few  incantations,  and  throw  magic  dice  to  find 
out  all  about  this  animal.  But  here  nothing  of  that  kind 
is  done,  and  yet  the  guide  will  follow  the  trail  unerringly, 
and  the  hunter  may  count  upon  being  brought  to  his  game. 
"  When  you  know,"  says  Captain  A.  W.  Drayson,  "  that 
the  giant  of  the  forest  is  not  inferior  in  the  senses  of 
hearing  and  smell  to  any  creature  in  creation,  and  has 
besides  intelligence  enough  to  know  that  you  are  his 
enemy,  and  also  for  what  purpose  you  have  come,  it  be- 
comes a  matter  of  great  moment  how,  when,  and  where 
you  approach  him." 

Elephants,  unless  they  have  some  definite  end  in  view, 
stroll  about  in  the  most  desultory,  and,  if  one  is  following 
them,  the  most  exasperating  manner.  Their  big  round 
footprints  go  up  hill  and  down  dale  in  utterly  aimless  and 
devious  meanderings.  Here  the  brute  stops  to  dig  a  tuber 
or  break  a  branch,  there  for  the  purpose  of  tearing  down  a 
clump  of  bamboos,  in  another  place  with  no  object  in  view 
except  to  drive  its  tusks  into  a  bank.  Sportsmen  often 
spend  a  day  and  night  upon  their  trail. 

No  one  can  foresee  the  issue  of  a  contest  with  an  ele- 
phant. It  may  fall  to  a  single  shot,  but  no  matter  how 
brave  and  cool  and  well  instructed  the  hunter  may  be,  how 
stanch  are  his  gun-bearers,  how  perfect  his  weapons  and 
the  skill  with  which  they  are  used,  when  that  wavering 
trunk  becomes  fixed  in  his  direction,  and  the  huge  head 
turns  toward  him,  his  breath  is  in  his  nostrils.  More  than 


The  Elephant  49 


likely  the  animal,  whose  form  is  almost  invisible  in  the 
half-lights  of  these  forests,  is  aware  of  his  pursuer's  pres- 
ence before  the  latter  sees  him,  and  if  he  has  remained,  it 
is  because  he  means  mischief.  Then  it  may  well  happen 
with  the  sportsman  as  it  did  with  Arlett,  Wedderburn, 
Krieger,  Me  Lane,  Wahlberg,  and  many  another. 

It  stands  to  reason  that  a  herd  is  harder  to  approach 
without  being  discovered  than  a  single  elephant  would  be. 
The  chances  that  the  hunter  will  be  seen  are  greater,  and 
their  scattered  positions  make  it  more  probable  that  some 
of  them  will  get  his  wind. 

Occasionally  an  old  bull  who  despises  that  part  of  man- 
kind who  do  not  possess  improved  rifles,  and  knows  per- 
fectly well  the  difference  between  an  Englishman  and  a 
native,  will  take  possession  of  some  unfortunate  ryot's 
millet  field  or  cane  patch,  and  hold  it  by  right  of  conquest 
against  all  attempts  to  dislodge  him.  Crowds  revile  the 
animal  from  a  safe  distance,  and  a  village  shikari  comes 
with  a  small-bored  matchlock  and  shoots  pieces  of  old  iron 
and  pebbles  at  him  from  the  nearest  position  where  it  is 
mathematically  certain  that  he  will  be  secure.  As  for  the 
marauder,  he  stays  where  he  is  until  everything  is  eaten 
or  destroyed,  or  until  he  gets  tired. 

The  amount  actually  consumed  by  elephants  forms  but 
a  small  portion  of  the  loss  which  agriculturists  sustain 
from  their  forays.  They  always  trample  down  and  ruin 
far  more  than  they  eat.  Both  in  India  and  Ceylon,  various 
districts  suffered  so  severely  in  this  way  that  government 
gave  rewards  for  all  elephants  killed.  This  has  now  been 
discontinued  in  both  countries,  but  in  many  places  where 


Wild  Beasts 


the  herds  are  protected  their  numbers  are  increasing,  so 
that  the  same  necessity  for  thinning  them  out  will  again 
arise. 

All  over  the  cultivated  portions  of  India  platforms  are 
erected  in  fields,  where  children  by  day,  and  men-  at  night, 
endeavor  to  frighten  away  these  invaders,  together  with 
the  birds,  antelopes,  bears,  monkeys,  and  wild  hogs,  that 
ravage  their  crops.  No  very  signal  success  can  be  said  to 
attend  these  efforts,  and  when  a  herd  of  elephants  makes 
its  appearance,  they  simply  keep  at  a  distance  from  the 
stages,  and  otherwise  do  as  they  please. 

Plundering  bands  survey  the  ground,  study  localities,  go 
on  their  duroras  like  a  troop  of  Dacoits,  and  are  organized 
for  the  time  being  in  a  rude  way,  under  the  influence  of 
what  Professor  Romanes  calls  "the  collective  instinct." 

Hunters  favorably  situated  can  easily  see  this.  A  far- 
off  trumpet  now  and  then  announces  the  herd's  advance 
through  the  forest,  but  as  they  approach  the  point  where 
possible  danger  is  to  be  apprehended,  no  token  of  their 
presence  is  given,  and  its  first  indication  is  the  appearance 
of  a  scout,  —  not  a  straggler  who  has  got  in  front  by  acci- 
dent, but  an  animal  upon  whom  the  others  depend,  and 
who  is  there  to  see  that  all  is  safe.  Everything  about  the 
creature,  its  actions  and  attitudes,  the  way  it  steps,  listens, 
and  searches  the  air  with  slowly  moving  trunk,  speaks  for 
itself  of  wariness,  knowledge  of  what  might  occur,  and  an 
appreciation  of  the  position  it  occupies ;  no  doubt,  to  a 
certain  extent,  of  a  sense  of  responsibility.  When  this 
scout  feels  satisfied  that  no  danger  is  impending,  it  moves 
on,  at  the  same  time  assuring  those  who  yet  remain  hidden 


The  Elephant  51 


that  they  may  follow,  by  one  of  the  many  significant 
sounds  that  elephants  make. 

A  number  of  narratives  describe  events  as  they  are 
likely  then  to  occur,  but  they  are  merely  hunting 
stories,  and  so  far  as  the  writer's  memory  serves,  do  not 
bring  out  the  animal's  traits  in  any  special  way.  It  would 
appear,  however,  that  the  behavior  of  elephants  who  unex- 
pectedly meet  with  Europeans  in  those  places  where  all  the 
resistance  previously  experienced  came  from  farmers  them- 
selves, is  very  different  from  what  it  is  in  the  former  case. 
Then  they  are  said  to  be  difficult  to  get  rid  of,  and  when 
driven  away  from  one  point  by  shouts,  horns,  drums,  and  the 
firing  of  guns,  they  rush  away  to  another  part  of  the  planta- 
tions, and  continue  their  depredations.  No  such  passive 
resistance  as  this  is  attempted  when  English  sportsmen 
are  upon  the  spot.  Elephants  discover  their  presence 
immediately.  Upon  the  first  explosion  of  a  heavy  rifle,  the 
alarm  is  sounded  from  different  parts  of  the  field,  and  the 
herd  betakes  itself  to  flight  without  any  notion  of  halting 
by  the  way.  Their  dominant  idea  is  to  get  clear  of  those 
premises  as  soon  as  possible. 

"The  elephant,"  says  Andersson,  "has  a  very  expressive 
organ  of  voice.  The  sounds  which  he  utters  have  been 
distinguished  by  his  Asiatic  keepers  into  three  kinds.  The 
first  is  very  shrill,  and  is  produced  by  blowing  through  his 
trunk.  This  is  indicative  of  pleasure.  The  second,  made  by 
the  mouth,  is  a  low  note  expressive  of  want ;  and  the  third, 
proceeding  from  the  throat,  is  a  terrific  roar  of  anger  or 
revenge."  Sanderson  seems  to  think  that  these  discrim- 
inations are  somewhat  fanciful.  He  remarks  that  "ele- 


52  Wild  Beasts 


phants  make  use  of  a  great  variety  of  sounds  in  communi- 
cating with  one  another,  and  in  expressing  their  wants  and 
feelings."  But  he  adds  that,  while  "  some  are  made  by  the 
trunk  and  some  by  the  throat,  the  conjunctures  in  which 
either  means  of  expression  is  employed,  cannot  be  strictly 
classified,  as  pleasure,  fear,  want,  and  other  emotions  are 
indicated  by  either."  Leveson,  on  the  contrary,  gives  a 
list  of  these  intonations,  and  describes  the  manner  in  which 
they  are  produced.  So  also  does  Tennant ;  and  Baker  adds 
another  sound  to  those  before  given ;  "  a  growl,"  this 
writer  calls  it,  and  he  says  that  "it  is  exactly  like  the 
rumbling  of  distant  thunder." 

Undoubtedly  these  animals  express  their  thoughts  and 
feelings  intelligibly  by  the  voice,  as  also  through  facial 
expressions,  and  by  means  of  such  gestures  as  they  are 
capable  of  making.  It  has  been  before  said  that  although 
the  elephant's  face  is  half  covered  up,  and  there  are  no 
muscles  either  in  his  case  or  in  that  of  any  other  animal, 
whose  primary  function  is  to  express  mental  or  emotional 
states,  his  physiognomy  may  be  in  the  highest  degree  sig- 
nificant. 

"  The  courage  of  elephants,"  writes  Captain  Drayson, 
"  seems  to  fluctuate  in  a  greater  degree  than  that  of  man. 
Sometimes  a  herd  is  unapproachable  from  savageness ; 
sometimes  the  animals  are  the  greatest  curs  in  creation." 
What  is  called  boldness  varies  considerably  in  different 
species,  among  members  of  the  same  species,  and  in  the 
same  individuals  at  different  times.  It  is  a  quality,  that, 
like  all  others,  is  double-sided,  certain  elements  belonging 
to  the  mind,  and  the  residue  to  the  body.  Elephants  are 


The  Elephant  53 


nervous ;  that  is  to  say,  their  nerve  centres  —  the  ganglia 
in  which  energy  is  stored  up  —  are  constitutionally  in  a 
state  of  more  or  less  unstable  equilibrium,  so  that  stimulus, 
whether  of  external  origin,  or  initiated  centrically,  is  apt  to 
produce  explosive  effects.  Courage  depends  upon  physical 
and  mental  constitution,  upon  specializations  in  race,  train- 
ing, and  structure,  upon  differences  in  personal  experience 
and  organization. 

So  much  as  this  may  be  said  with  confidence,  but  on 
what  grounds,  biological  or  psychological,  is  it  possible  for 
Professor  Romanes  to  assert  that  the  elephant  seems 
usually  to  be  "actuated  by  the  most  magnanimous  of 
feelings"?  Magnanimity  belongs  to  the  rarest  and  loftiest 
type  of  human  character  :  how  did  an  elephant  come  by 
it  ?  The  obligations  of  mental  and  moral  congruity  are 
not  less  binding  than  those  of  physical  fitness.  No  one 
nowadays  draws  an  elephant  with  a  human  head  ;  but  a 
beast  with  self-respect,  courage,  refinement,  sympathy, 
and  charity  enough  to  be  magnanimous,  does  not  seem  to 
outrage  any  sense  of  propriety.  Works  like  those  of  Wat- 
son ("  Reasoning  Power  of  Animals  "),  Broderip  ("  Zoo- 
logical Recreations  "),  Bingley  ("  Animal  Biography  "), 
Swainson  ("  Habits  and  Instincts  of  Animals  "),  too  often 
interpret  facts  so  that  they  will  fit  preconceived  opinions. 
There  is  a  story,  for  example,  by  Captain  Shipp,  of  how, 
during  the  siege  of  Bhurtpore,  an  elephant  pushed  another 
one  into  a  well  because  he  had  appropriated  his  bucket. 
Tales  like  this  resemble  pictures  in  which  the  design  and 
execution  are  both  weak,  and  which  depend  for  their  effect 
upon  accessories  illegitimately  introduced  into  the  com- 


54  Wild  Beasts 


position.  Probably  a  large  part  of  the  present  inhabitants 
of  the  earth  have  seen  animals  who,  while  contending  for 
some  possession,  acted  in  a  similar  manner ;  but  they 
were  not  elephants,  nor  were  the  circumstances  of  a 
well  and  a  siege  at  hand  to  set  them  off,  and  produce 
an  impression  that  the  actual  incident  does  not  justify. 
The  grief  of  captive  elephants  over  their  situation  is  a 
subject  upon  which  many  fine  remarks  have  been  made. 
Colonel  Yule  ("Embassy  to  Ava")  states  that  numbers 
die  from  this  cause  alone ;  but  yaarbahd,  either  in  its 
dropsical  or  atrophic  form,  is  what  chiefly  proves  fatal  to 
them,  and  this  is  brought  on  by  the  sudden  and  violent 
interruption  of  their  natural  way  of  life.  According  to 
Strachan,  Sanderson,  and  other  experts,  the  disorder  is 
due  to  an  overthrow  of  functional  balance ;  something 
which  is  sure  to  induce  disease  whenever  it  occurs.  Ste- 
rility, temporary  failure  of  milk  in  females  with  calves, 
together  with  the  various  effects  already  mentioned,  may 
be  referred  to  the  same  cause.  It  is  not  said  that  ele- 
phants never  die  of  grief ;  still  less,  that  this  is  impossible. 
Any  animal  highly  organized  enough  to  feel  intense  and 
persistent  sorrow  may  perish.  Pain,  either  physical  or 
mental,  is  intimately  connected  with  waste  of  tissue  and 
paralysis  of  reparative  action.  Bain's  formula  that  "  states 
of  pleasure  are  concomitant  with  an  increase,  and  states 
of  pain  with  a  decrease,  of  some,  or  all,  of  the  vital  func- 
tions," is  not  strictly  correct  as  it  stands ;  still  the  truth  it 
is  intended  to  convey  remains  indisputable.  Grant-Allen 
("Physiological  ^Esthetics  ")  defines  pleasure  as  a  "con- 
comitant of  the  healthy  action  of  any  or  all  of  the  organs 


The  Elephant  55 


or  members  supplied  with  afferent  cerebro-spinal  nerves, 
to  an  extent  not  exceeding  the  ordinary  powers  of  repara- 
tion possessed  by  the  system."  Grief,  when  intense,  re- 
verses this,  makes  normal  function  impossible,  palsies  the 
viscera,  and  impairs  or  perverts  those  nutritive  processes 
upon  which  life  directly  depends.  But  the  profound  and 
abiding  sorrow  this  race  cherishes  in  servitude  is  a  romance. 
There  is  nothing  to  show  the  regret  and  longing  which 
have  been  imagined.  Elephants  struggle  for  a  while 
against  coercion,  and  then  forget.  They  fail  to  take  ad- 
vantage of  opportunities  for  escape,  and  when  they  do,  the 
fugitives  are  recaptured  more  easily  than  they  were  taken 
in  the  first  place.  Instances  have  often  occurred  of  their 
voluntary  return  after  a  long  absence.  In  the  beginning, 
it  is  the  finest  animals  who  perish.  They  kill  themselves 
in  their  struggles,  or  die  of  disease.  Subsequently,  it 
is  said  that  domestication  lengthens  average  life.  This 
must,  however,  be  one  of  those  blank  assertions  made  so 
commonly  about  wild  beasts  ;  since,  independently  of  any 
other  objection,  it  is  evident  that  the  statement,  in  order 
to  be  worth  anything,  should  rest  upon  the  basis  of  a  wide 
comparison  between  the  relative  longevities  of  free  and 
captive  animals,  and  vital  statistics  of  this  kind,  not  only 
have  not  been  tabulated,  but  it  is  impossible  that  they 
should  have  been  collected. 

Colonel  Pollok  remarks  that  "at  all  times,  this  is  a 
wandering  race,  and  consumes  so  much,  and  wastes  so 
much,  that  no  single  forest  could  long  support  a  large 
number  of  such  occupants."  Livingstone,  Forsyth,  and 
others  have,  however,  noted  the  fact  that  little  or  no  per- 


56  Wild  Beasts 


manent  injury  to  extensive  woodlands  was  wrought  by 
these  animals.  They  do  not  overturn  trees,  as  is  popularly 
believed,  and  still  less  do  they  uproot  them.  Elephants 
bend  down  stems  by  pressure  with  their  foreheads,  and 
they  go  loitering  about  breaking  branches,  till  the  place 
looks  as  if  a  whirlwind  had  passed  over  it,  but  these  devas- 
tations are  of  a  kind  soon  repaired.  In  the  forests  of 
India  they  have  never  met  with  such  adversaries,  or  been 
exposed  to  the  same  dangers,  as  the  species  encountered 
on  the  "Dark  Continent."  Some  Indian  tribes  wor- 
shipped, and  all  feared  them.  They  passed  their  lives  for 
the  most  part  in  peace,  finding  food  plentiful,  ruining 
much,  and  finishing  nothing.  Pitfalls  were  few  and  far 
between  ;  no  weighted  darts  fell  upon  them  as  they  passed 
beneath  the  boughs,  no  pigmy  savage  stole  behind  as  they 
leaned  against  a  tree  boll  and  woke  the  echoes  of  the 
wood  with  deep,  slow-drawn,  and  far-resounding  snores, 
to  thrust  a  broad-bladed  spear  into  their  bodies,  and  leave 
it  there  to  lacerate  and  kill  his  victim  slowly.  Neither 
were  herds  driven  over  precipices,  nor  into  chasms, 
nor  did  hordes  of  capering  barbarians  come  against 
them  with  assagais,  and  scream,  while  pricking  them  to 

death,  — 

"  Oh  Chief !  Chief !  we  have  come  to  kill  you, 
Oh  Chief !  Chief !  many  more  shall  die. 
The  gods  have  said  it." 

All  this  was  common  throughout  Africa,  while  in  Asia 
the  natives  seldom  aggressed  against  elephants  except 
in  the  way  of  capturing  them.  It  is  true  that  this  was 
done  awkwardly,  and  often  caused  injury  or  death ;  but 


The  Elephant  57 


that  was  unintentional,  and  as  a  rule  they  roamed  unmo- 
lested among  the  solitudes  of  nature. 

Existence  had  its  drawbacks,  however.  Elephants  were 
not  eaten  in  Asia,  and  not  hunted  for  their  ivory  to  any 
extent,  but  they  were  used  in  war,  and  the  state  of  no 
native  prince  could  be  complete  unless  he  had  an  elephant 
to  ride  on  and  several  caparisoned  animals  for  show. 
Owing  to  these  needs  and  fashions  the  animals  were  cap- 
tured extensively.  In  many  places  at  present  small  parties 
of  men,  often  only  two  or  three,  go  on  foot  into  the  forests 
as  their  predecessors  did  ages  ago,  each  with  a  small  bag  of 
provisions,  and  a  green  hide  rope  capable  of  being  consider- 
ably stretched.  An  elephant's  track  is  almost  as  explicit 
and  full  of  information  to  them  as  a  passport  or  descrip- 
tive list,  and  when  they  have  found  the  right  one,  it  is 
patiently  followed  till  the  beast  that  made  it  is  discovered. 
Then  in  the  great  majority  of  cases  its  fate  is  fixed. 
Flight,  concealment,  resistance,  are  in  vain.  In  some 
" inevitable  hour"  a  noose  of  plaited  thongs  that  cannot 
be  broken  is  slipped  around  one  of  the  hind  feet,  and  a 
turn  or  two  quickly  taken  about  a  tree.  A  high-bred  ele- 
phant gives  up  when  he  finds  that  the  first  fierce  struggle 
for  freedom  is  unavailing,  but  the  meerga's  resistance  lasts 
longer.  After  one  leg  has  been  secured  it  is  easy  to  fetter 
both,  and  then  the  captors  camp  in  front  of  the  animal  in 
order  to  accustom  it  to  their  presence.  By  degrees  they 
loosen  its  bonds,  feed  and  pacify  it.  When  anger  is  over, 
and  its  terrors  are  dissipated,  these  men  lead  their  captive 
off  to  a  market  at  some  great  fair,  and  they  lie  about  what 
they  have  done  and  what  the  elephant  did,  with  a  fertility 


58  Wild  Beasts 


of  invention,  a  height  and  length  and  breadth  of  mendacity 
which  it  would  be  vain  to  expect  to  find  exceeded  in  this 
imperfect  state  of  existence. 

The  government  also  often  wants  elephants,  and  when 
this  is  the  case,  captures  are  made  in  a  different  manner, 
and  upon  a  greater  scale.  What  is  done  is  to  surround  a 
herd  and  drive  it  into  an  enclosure  called  a  keddah.  This 
is  often  a  very  complicated  and  difficult  thing  to  accom- 
plish. Far  away  in  some  wild  unsettled  region  of  the 
Nilgiri  or  Satpura  hills,  the  uplands  of  Mysore,  or  else- 
where, an  English  official  pitches  his  tent,  surveys  the 
country,  and  sends  out  scouts.  To  him  sooner  or  later 
comes  a  person  without  any  clothes  to  speak  of,  but  with 
the  most  exquisite  manners,  and  says  that,  owing  to  his 
Excellency's  good  fortune,  by  which  all  adverse  influences 
have  been  happily  averted,  he  begs  to  represent  that  a 
herd  of  elephants,  who  were  created  on  purpose  to  be  cap- 
tured by  him,  is  marked  down.  Then  the  commander-in- 
chief  of  the  catching  forces  opens  a  campaign  that  may 
last  for  weeks,  or  even  months.  The  topography  has  been 
carefully  studied  with  reference  to  occupying  positions 
which  will  prevent  the  animals  from  breaking  through  a 
line  of  posts  that  are  established  around  them,  and  between 
which  communication  is  kept  up  by  flying  detachments. 
Drafts  of  men  from  the  district  and  a  trained  contingent 
the  officer  brought  with  him,  are  manoeuvred  so  that  they 
can  concentrate  upon  the  point  selected  for  their  keddah, 
which  is  not  constructed  till  towards  the  close  of  these 
movements,  since  the  area  surrounded  is  very  extensive 
and  it  is  not  at  first  known  exactly  where  it  must  be 


The  Elephant  59 


placed.  Its  position  is  fixed  within  certain  limits,  how- 
ever, and  their  object  is  to  drive  the  herd  in  that  direction 
without  at  first  attracting  attention  to  the  fact  that  this  is 
being  done,  and  thereby  causing  continued  alarm.  Those 
who  direct  proceedings  know  the  character  of  elephants, 
and  count  upon  their  lack  of  intelligence  to  aid  them 
in  carrying  out  the  design.  Before  any  apprehension  of 
real  danger  makes  itself  felt,  they  have  voluntarily,  as  it 
seems  to  them,  moved  away  from  parties  who  just  showed 
themselves  from  time  to  time  and  then  disappeared.  They 
still  feed  in  solitudes  apparently  uninvaded,  still  stand 
about  after  the  manner  of  their  kind,  blowing  dust  through 
their  trunks  or  squirting  water  over  their  bodies.  They 
fan  themselves  with  branches,  and  sleep  in  peace. 

At  length,  long  after  the  true  state  of  things  would 
have  been  fully  appreciated  by  most  other  species,  the 
herd  finds  out  that  it  is  always  moving  in  a  definite  direc- 
tion. Then  a  dim  consciousness  of  the  truth,  which  day 
by  day  becomes  more  vivid  until  it  arrives  at  certainty, 
takes  possession  of  their  minds.  From  that  time  an  exhibi- 
tion of  traits  which  scarcely  correspond  with  popular  views 
upon  the  elephant's  intellect  is  constantly  made.  If  they 
had  anything  like  the  ability  attributed  to  them,  the  toils 
by  which  they  are  surrounded  could  be  broken  with  ease. 
There  is  no  time  from  their  first  sight  of  a  human  being 
to  the  very  moment  when  they  are  bound  to  trees,  at 
which  they  could  not  escape.  It  is  useless  to  say  they 
do  not  know  this ;  that  is  precisely  what  the  creatures  are 
accused  of.  If  they  were  such  animals  as  they  are  said  to 
be,  they  would  know  it,  and  act  accordingly.  But  as  soon 


60  Wild  Beasts 


as  the  situation  is  revealed,  they  become  helpless ;  their 
resources  of  every  kind  are  at  an  end.  They  stand  still 
in  stupid  despair,  break  out  in  transient  and  impotent  fits 
of  rage,  make  pitiable  demonstrations  of  attack  upon  points 
where  they  could  not  be  opposed  for  an  instant  if  the 
assault  was  made  in  earnest,  and  at  length  suffer  them- 
selves to  be  driven  into  an  enclosure  that  would  no  more 
hold  them  against  their  will  than  if  it  had  been  made  of 
gauze. 

An  elephant  corral  or  keddah  is  a  stout  stockade  with 
a  shallow  ditch  dug  around  it  inside,  and  slight  fences  of 
brush  diverging  for  some  distance  from  its  entrance.  In- 
credible as  it  may  seem,  single  elephants  frequently  break 
out  of  these  places,  but  a  herd  hardly  ever ;  they  have  not 
enterprise,  pluck,  and  presence  of  mind  enough  to  follow  the 
example  when  it  is  set  them.  Sometimes,  as  we  have 
seen,  elephants  may  be  fierce  and  determined ;  despera- 
tion has  been  shown  to  be  among  the  possibilities  of  their 
nature.  But  whereas  an  exceptional  individual  will,  from 
pure  ferocity,  brave  wounds  and  death,  nothing  can  so 
move  the  race  as  to  cause  a  display  of  ordinary  self- 
possession.  It  is  quite  true  that  whenever  the  imprisoned 
band  comes  rushing  down  upon  any  part  of  the  keddah, 
they  are  met  with  fire-brands,  the  discharge  of  unshotted 
guns,  and  an  infernal  clamor ;  but  if  that  be  urged  in  ex- 
planation of  their  hesitation,  it  may  be  replied  that  if  the 
whole  herd  had  as  much  resolution  as  a  single  lion  brought 
to  bay,  they  would  sweep  away  everything  before  them 
as  the  fallen  leaves  of  their  forests  are  swept  away  by  a 
gale. 


The  Elephant  61 


Often  among  the  bewildered  and  panic-stricken  crowd 
within  a  corral  some  animal  is  so  dangerous  that  it  has  to 
be  shot ;  the  majority,  however,  soon  grow  calmer,  and 
then  comes  the  task  of  securing  those  which  it  is  desirable 
to  keep.  When  these  are  males,  the  procedure  is  as  fol- 
lows :  An  experienced  female  is  introduced ;  she  marches 
up  to  the  tusker,  and  very  shortly  all  sense  of  his  situa- 
tion vanishes  from  his  "half-human  mind."  The  fasci- 
nating creature  who  is  made  to  cajole  him  has  a  man  on 
her  neck  whose  voice  and  motions  direct  her  in  everything 
she  does ;  but  that  circumstance,  which  might  undoubtedly 
be  supposed  to  attract  the  captive's  attention,  is  entirely 
overlooked,  and  when,  either  by  herself  or  with  the  assist- 
ance of  another  Delilah,  she  has  backed  her  Samson  up 
against  a  tree,  two  or  three  other  men  who  have  been 
riding  on  her  back,  but  whom  he  has  not  noticed,  slip 
down  and  make  him  fast.  As  has  been  said,  after  a  few 
fits  of  hysterics,  his  resistance  is  at  an  end ;  the  monarch 
of  the  forest  is  tamed,  and  considering  what  has  been 
written  about  elephants,  it  is  indeed  surprising  that  no 
one  has  reported  the  precise  course  of  thought  that  pro- 
duced his  resignation.  To  express  this  change  in  the 
felicitous  language  of  Professor  Romanes,  the  elephant 
has  experienced  "a  transformation  of  emotional  psychol- 
ogy." That  is  to  say,  a  being  which  has  heretofore  been 
nothing  but  an  unreclaimed  wild  beast,  is  by  the  simple 
process  of  being  frightened,  deceived,  abused,  and  en- 
slaved, at  once  converted  into  one  of  the  chief  ornaments 
of  animated  nature  ! 

The  question  arises  as  one  ponders  upon    statements 


62  Wild  Beasts 


like  this,  whether  we  really  know  anything  worth  speak- 
ing of  about  inferior  animals,  and  if  it  is  possible  to  use 
expressions  like  "cruel  as  a  tiger,"  "brave  as  a  lion,"  or 
"sagacious  as  an  elephant,"  rationally.  As  for  any  philo- 
sophical, or,  as  Spencer  calls  it,  "  completely  unified  knowl- 
edge "  on  the  subject,  nobody  possesses  it ;  at  the  same 
time  the  natural  sciences  may  be  so  applied  as  to  bring 
certain  truths  to  light  in  this  connection.  It  is  plain,  for 
example,  that  an  elephant  does  not  kill  his  keeper  btcause 
he  is  fond  of  him ;  but  it  is  one  thing  to  start  out  with  the 
assumption  that  this  noble-hearted,  affectionate,  and  mag- 
nanimous animal  would  never  have  been  guilty  of  such  an 
act  unless  it  had  been  maltreated,  and  it  is  another,  and 
quite  a  different  course  to  begin  with  the  fact  that  the 
deed  was  done  by  a  brute  in  whose  inherited  nature  no 
radical  change  could  by  any  possibility  have  been  effected 
by  such  training  as  it  has  received.  If  now  we  endeavor 
to  ascertain  what  that  nature  was,  —  study  the  records  of 
behavior  in  wild  and  domesticated  specimens,  and  look  at 
this  by  the  light  which  biology  and  psychology,  without 
any  assumptions  whatever,  cast  upon  it,  —  we  shall  find  our- 
selves in  the  best  position  for  investigating  any  particular 
case  under  consideration.  Many  accounts  of  such  murders 
have  been  given  at  length.  We  know  how,  why,  when, 
and  where  the  animal  began  its  enmity,  and  the  manner 
in  which  it  was  shown  or  concealed,  so  that,  having  in- 
vestigated the  matter  in  the  way  described,  we  are,  to  a 
certain  extent,  able,  not  to  generalize  the  character  of  this 
species,  but  to  put  aside  immature  opinions,  and  say  that 
since  very  many  elephants  exhibit  traits  which  are  in  con- 


The  Elephant  63 


formity  with  those  to  be  expected  of  them,  these  probably 
belong  to  the  species  at  large,  and  may  be  displayed  with 
different  degrees  of  violence  whenever  circumstances  favor 
their  manifestation. 

The  chief  characteristics  of  elephants  have  been  dis- 
cussed, and  an  attempt  has  been  made  to  place  them  in 
their  true  light.  The  writer  has  not  found  the  half-human 
elephant  in  nature,  nor  does  it  appear  from  records  that 
any  one  else  has  done  so.  An  elephant  is  a  wild  beast, 
comparatively  with  others  undeveloped  by  a  severe  struggle 
for  existence  ;  superficially  changed  in  captivity,  and  cut 
off  from  improvement  by  barrenness.  It  is  capable  of 
receiving  a  considerable  amount  of  instruction,  and  learns 
quickly  and  well ;  but  how  far  its  acquisitions  are  assimi- 
lated and  converted  into  faculty,  is  altogether  uncertain. 
In  the  savage  state  elephants  do  nothing  that  other  animals 
cannot  do  as  well,  and  many  of  them  better.  Mere  bulk, 
and  its  accompaniment,  strength,  do  not  influence  char- 
acter in  any  definite  manner  that  can  be  pointed  out. 

In  captivity,  elephants  are  commonly  obedient,  partly 
because,  having  never  had  any  enemies  to  contend  with, 
they  are  naturally  inoffensive,  and  partly  for  the  reason 
that  these  animals  are  easily  overawed,  very  nervous,  and 
extremely  liable  to  feelings  of  causeless  apprehension. 

Courage  in  cold  blood  is  certainly  not  one  of  their  quali- 
ties ;  nevertheless,  being  amenable  to  discipline,  and  hav- 
ing some  sense  of  responsibility,  certain  elephants  are 
undoubtedly  stanch  both  in  war  and  the  chase. 

This  animal  is  easily  excited,  very  irritable,  prone  to 
take  offence,  and  subject  to  fits  of  hysterical  passion. 


64  Wild  Beasts 


Thus  it  happens  that  wild  elephants  are  the  most  formida- 
ble objects  of  pursuit  known  to  exist,  and  that  the  majority 
of  those  held  in  durance  exhibit  dangerous  outbreaks  of 
temper.  When  an  elephant  is  vicious,  he  displays  capa- 
bilities in  the  way  of  evil  such  as  none  of  his  kind,  when 
left  to  themselves,  have  ever  been  known  to  manifest  in 
the  direction  of  virtue.  A  " rogue"  is  the  most  terrible 
of  wild  beasts  ;  the  captive  tusker  who  has  determined 
upon  murder  finds  no  being  but  man,  who  in  the  prose- 
cution of  his  design  is  so  patient,  so  self-contained,  so 
deceitful,  and  so  deadly.  It  is  idle  to  say,  speaking  of 
the  relations  between  elephants  and  men,  that  the  good 
qualities  of  the  former  greatly  predominate,  since  if  it  had 
been  otherwise,  no  association  between  them  would  have 
been  possible  —  they  could  not  have  inhabited  the  same 
regions. 

The  concluding  pages  may,  perhaps,  serve  to  show  how 
far  this  sketch  of  the  elephant's  character  is  compatible 
with  facts. 

Charles  John  Andersson  ("  The  Lion  and  the  Ele- 
phant " )  observes  that,  "  whether  or  not  the  elephant  be 
the  harmless  creature  he  is  represented  by  many,  certain 
it  is  that  to  the  sportsman  he  is  the  most  formidable  of  all 
those  beasts,  the  lion  not  excepted,  that  roam  the  African 
wilds  ;  and  few  there  are  who  make  the  pursuit  pf  him  a 
profession,  that  do  not,  sooner  or  later,  come  to  grief  of 
some  kind."  Being  social  animals,  there  is  a  certain  sym- 
pathy and  affection  between  members  of  the  same  family ; 
but  while  striking  instances  of  this  are  recorded,  the  bulk 
of  evidence  tends  the  other  way. 


The  Elephant  65 


Impressive  examples  of  solicitude  have,  however,  been 
observed.  Moodie  tells  that  he  saw  a  female  —  whom 
the  experience  of  most  hunters  shows  to  be  much  more 
likely  to  act  in  this  manner  than  a  male  —  guard  her 
wounded  mate,  and  how  she,  "regardless  of  her  own 
danger,  quitted  her  shelter  in  the  woods,  rushed  out  to  his 
assistance,  walked  round  and  round  him,  chased  away  the 
assailants,  and  returning  to  his  side  caressed  him.  When- 
ever he  attempted  to  walk,  she  placed  her  flank  or  her 
shoulder  to  his  wounded  side  and  supported  him."  Fred- 
erick Green  wrote  an  altogether  unique  account  to 
Andersson  of  the  succor  of  an  elephant  ;nat  had  been 
shot,  by  one  who  was  a  stranger,  of  the  3ame  sex,  and 
who  encountered  him  far  from  the  scene  /vhere  his  mis- 
fortune had  befallen  him. 

The  Bushmen,  he  says,  often  asserted  that  elephants 
would  carry  water  in  their  trunks  to  a  wounded  companion 
at  a  long  distance  in  the  "  Weldt."  Green,  however,  did 
not  believe  it,  until,  while  hunting  in  the  Lake  Regions, 
he  was  compelled,  from  want  of  ammunition,  "  to  leave  an 
elephant  that  was  crippled  (one  of  his  fore  legs  had  been 
broken,  besides  having  eleven  wounds  in  his  body)  some 
thirty  miles  from  the  waggons." 

"As  I  felt  confident,"  this  writer  continues,  "that  he 
would  die  of  his  wounds  ...  I  despatched  Bushmen  after 
him  instead  of  going  myself ;  but  they,  not  attending  to 
my  commands,  remained  for  two  days  beside  an  elephant 
previously  killed  by  my  after-rider.  It  was,  therefore,  not 
until  the  fourth  evening  after  I  left  this  elephant  that  the 
Bushmen  came  up  with  him.  .  .  .  They  found  him  still 


66  Wild  Beasts 


alive  and  standing,  but  unable  to  walk.  .  .  .  They  slept 
near  him,  thinking  he  might  die  during  the  night ;  but  at 
an  early  hour  after  dark  they  heard  another  elephant  at  a 
distance,  apparently  calling,  and  he  was  answered  by  the 
wounded  one.  The  calls  and  answers  continued  until  the 
stranger  came  up,  and  they  saw  him  giving  the  hurt  one 
water,  after  which  he  assisted  in  taking  his  maimed  com- 
panion away."  Such  was  the  story  told  Green  when  the 
party  came  back.  He  disbelieved  their  statements 
entirely,  went  off  to  the  spot  to  see  what  had  happened 
for  himself,  and  thus  relates  his  own  observations  :  — 

"The  next  afternoon  found  me  at  the  identical  place 
where  I  had  left  the  wounded  elephant.  I  can  only  say 
that  the  account  of  the  Bushmen  as  to  the  stranger 
elephant  coming  up  to  the  maimed  one  was  proved  by 
the  spoor;  and  that  their  further  assertion  as  to  his 
having  assisted  his  unfortunate  friend  in  removing  else- 
where was  also  fully  verified  from  the  spoor  of  the  two 
being  close  alongside  of  each  other  —  the  broken  leg  of 
the  wounded  one  leaving  after  it  a  deep  furrow  in  the 
sand.  As  I  was  satisfied  that  these  parts  of  their  story 
were  correct,  I  did  not  see  any  further  reason  to  doubt 
the  other." 

Male  elephants  rarely  fall  in  the  holes  which  undermine 
so  many  parts  of  Africa ;  they  carry  their  trunks  low,  have 
no  one  to  look  out  for  but  themselves,  and  so  detect  these 
traps,  and  generally  uncover  them.  Moodie  makes  the 
statement  that  many  elephants  follow  the  recent  trails  of 
those  who  went  before  them  to  watering-places,  and  if 
these  turned  off,  took  it  for  a  sign  of  danger,  and  did  not 


The  Elephant  67 


drink.  After  what  Inglis  and  Hallet  say  to  the  same 
effect  of  tigers,  after  St.  John's  observations  upon  red 
deer,  and  Lloyd's  on  the  Scandinavian  fox,  inductive 
reasoning  like  this  does  not  seem  at  all  incredible.  Amral, 
chief  of  the  Namaqua  Hottentots,  told  Galton  and  Anders- 
son  that  on  one  occasion  he  and  others  were  in  pursuit  of 
a  herd  of  elephants,  and  at  length  came  to  a  wagon-track 
which  the  animals  had  crossed.  Here  the  latter,  as  was 
seen  by  their  spoor,  had  come  to  a  halt,  and  after  carefully 
examining  the  ground  with  their  trunks,  formed  a  circle 
in  the  centre  of  which  their  leader  took  up  his  position. 
Afterwards  individuals  were  sent  out  to  make  further  in- 
vestigations. The  Raad,  or  debate,  this  chieftain  went  on 
to  say,  must  have  been  long  and  weighty,  for  they  (the 
elephants)  had  written  much  on  the  ground  with  their 
probosces.  The  decision  evidently  was  that  to  remain 
longer  in  that  locality  would  be  dangerous,  and  they 
therefore  came  to  the  unanimous  resolution  to  decamp 
forthwith.  Attempts  to  overtake  them,  Amral  went  on  to 
say,  were  useless;  for,  though  they  followed  their  tracks 
till  sunset,  they  saw  no  more  of  them. 

What  these  elephants  thought  when  they  found  a 
track  which,  to  them,  was  new  and  inexplicable,  is,  of 
course,  a  matter  of  conjecture;  but  their  trail  revealed 
everything  that  was  done  on  this  occasion,  as  clearly  as 
if  the  Hottentots  had  been  eye-witnesses  of  their  actions. 

Colonel  Julius  Barras  ("  India  and  Tiger-Hunting ") 
entered  con  amore  into  a  study  of  the  elephant,  so  far  as 
its  character  came  into  play  when  the  animal  was  em- 
ployed in  sport  J  and  he  did  what  no  other  gentleman, 


68  Wild  Beasts 


to  the  author's  knowledge,  has  ever  done ;  namely,  turned 
mahout  himself,  and  drove  shikar  tuskers  against  many 
a  tiger.  His  appreciation  of  this  creature's  courage, 
benevolence,  and  reliability  is  very  much  in  accord  with 
that  which  has  been  expressed ;  but  he  offers  some 
observations  upon  vice  that  should  not  be  overlooked. 
"One  peculiarity  of  elephants,"  remarks  the  Colonel,  "is 
that,  when  desirous  of  killing  any  one,  they  nearly  always 
select  as  a  victim  their  own  or  a  rival's  attendant."  It 
seems  rather  strained,  however,  to  speak  of  this  fact  as 
a  "peculiarity,"  since  circumstances  would  naturally  bring 
about  such  a  selection. 

But  no  provocation  need  be  offered  to  an  elephant  in 
order  that  he  should  desire  to  kill  a  man.  "Sahib,"  said 
Mohammed  Yakoob,  the  driver  of  an  immense  old  tusker, 
whom  Colonel  Barras  had  drawn  from  the  government 
stables  at  Baroda,  "  you  see  that  this  elephant  is  a  beast 
void  of  religion  (be  iman),  and  he  hates  the  English." 

"Dear  me,"  answered  the  Colonel,  "and  how  does  he 
get  on  with  the  natives  ? " 

"Oh!"  replied  the  mahout,  "much  better,  but  still  he 
is  uncertain  even  with  them.  He  has  killed  two,  and 
there  is  but  little  doubt  that  he  will  do  for  me,  his  keeper, 
sooner  or  later." 

Colonel  Barras  knew  that  Futteh  Ali,  the  elephant  in 
question,  had  never  seen  him  before,  and  was  well  aware 
that  it  was  impossible  for  this  creature  to  feel  offended  at 
any  act  of  his.  The  colonel's  mind  was  also  full  of  con- 
ventional ideas  concerning  elephants,  so  he  disbelieved 
what  the  driver  told  him,  and  resolved  to  make  friends 


The  Elephant  69 


with  Futteh  All,  and  ride  him  after  tigers.     He  tells  what 
happened  in  the  following  words  :  — 

"  One  afternoon  I  considered  myself  fortunate  in  arriv- 
ing before  Futteh  AH  when  no  one  was  in  sight.  I  drew 
up  in  front  of  him  with  a  few  pieces  of  chopped  sugar-cane 
in  my  hand.  I  looked  attentively  at  the  colossus,  and 
could  observe  no  signs  of  any  unusual  emotion.  I  spoke 
to  him  in  those  tones  which  I  flattered  myself  he  con- 
sidered dulcet.  On  this  he  gently  waved  his  ears  and 
twinkled  his  eyes,  as  who  should  say,  '  It's  all  right ;  you 
are  my  friend.'  I  now  called  out  cheerfully,  'Salaam, 
Futteh  Ali,  Salaam  ! '  and  raised  my  arm  at  the  same 
time.  To  this  he  responded  by  lifting  his  trunk  over  his 
head  in  return  for  the  salute.  This  last  act  made  assur- 
ance doubly  sure.  I  mounted  the  platform,  and  as  I  did 
so  the  elephant  again  flung  up  his  trunk,  and  opened  his 
mouth,  as  if  to  accept  with  gratitude  my  sweet  and  juicy 
offerings.  But  his  heart  was  full  of  treachery.  He  well 
knew  that  with  his  front  feet  manacled  it  would  be  useless 
to  pursue  me  even  if  I  had  but  a  few  inches  start  of  him. 
He  therefore  dissembled  with  great  cleverness  and  self- 
command  till  I  had  actually  leant  up  against  one  of  his 
tusks,  and  had  got  my  hand  in  his  mouth ;  then  he  sud- 
denly belched  forth  a  shout  of  rage,  and  made  a  sweep  at 
me  with  his  tusks  that  sent  me  flying  off  the  platform 
into  the  dust  below.  ...  I  sat  up  bareheaded  and  half- 
stunned,  just  in  time  to  see  the  under-keeper,  who  had 
been  slumbering  behind  a  pile  of  equipments  all  this  time, 
sent  with  greater  force  in  a  backward  direction.  .  .  .  The 
elephant,  meanwhile,  had  thrown  off  the  mask;  it  was 


70  Wild  Beasts 


evidently  only  the  shackles  on  his  front  feet  that  pre- 
vented him  from  getting  off  the  platform  and  finishing 
us." 

Very  few  persons  would  have  done  the  same,  but 
Colonel  Barras  took  Futteh  Ali  for  his  Shikar  elephant, 
and  he  afterwards  carried  him  well  in  many  a  dangerous 
strait.  But  he  was  wise  enough  never  to  give  him  a  second 
opportunity  to  take  his  life. 

Another  tusker  enraged  himself  against  Colonel  Barras 
for  a  very  slight  cause.  He  was  coming  back  one  day, 
riding  this  animal,  Ashmut  Guj  by  name,  when,  as  he 
says,  "  I  determined  to  see  what  this  beast  would  do,  if  I, 
seated  on  his  back,  were  to  imitate  a  tiger  charging." 
Accordingly,  he  began  to  mimic  that  short,  hoarse,  savage 
cry,  and  the  elephant,  who  was  not  at  all  deceived,  did 
nothing  but  raise  his  trunk.  The  mahout,  however, 
warned  him  to  desist.  "Every  time  you  make  that 
noise,"  said  he,  "the  elephant  points  his  trunk  over  his 
back  and  takes  a  long  sniff  to  inform  himself  as  to  which 
of  his  passengers  is  trying  to  vex  him."  Barras  stopped 
at  once,  but  the  evil  had  been  done. 

"  On  arriving  at  the  bungalow,"  the  Colonel  continues, 
"  I  had  quite  forgotten  this  little  incident.  Not  so  Ash- 
mut Guj.  At  the  word  of  command  he  bent  his  hind  legs 
and  allowed  the  three  natives  to  slip  off  his  back  in  succes- 
sion. I  was  the  last  to  dismount,  and  as  I  touched  the 
ground  the  elephant  rose  with  a  swift  motion,  and  aimed  a 
fearful  kick  at  me  with  his  enormous  club-like  hind  foot. 
I  started  forward,  so  as  just  to  escape  the  blow,  which 
would,  of  course,  have  annihilated  me.  This  elephant 


The  Elephant  71 


would  never  forgive  me  for  the  indignity  I  had  put  upon 
him.  %  Always  upon  dismounting  he  would  try  to  rise,  so 
as  to  repeat  his  manoeuvre,  and  it  was  necessary  to  make 
him  kneel  down  completely  before  I  got  off.  Nor  would 
I  ever  again  feed  him  from  my  hand,  as  I  believe  that 
if  he  could  have  got  hold  of  me  he  would  have  trampled 
me." 

There  is  a  tragic  story  told  by  the  same  author,  of  an 
elephant  who  was  "  must."  His  keeper  did  not  know  it, 
and,  in  fact,  could  not  be  persuaded  that  such  was  the 
case. 

Barras  left  Neemuch  with  a  number  of  elephants,  and 
among  the  rest  an  old  friend  and  favorite  of  his,  Roghanath 
Guj,  whose  mahout,  Ghassee  Ram,  had  been  in  charge  of 
him  for  eighteen  years  and  thus  acquired  a  very  great 
influence  over  the  animal.  Colonel  Barras,  who  had  not 
seen  this  beast  for  some  time,  was  at  once  struck  by  the 
indifference  displayed  to  his  expressions  of  friendliness, 
and  to  those  little  presents  of  sweets  which  these  creatures 
enjoy  so  much.  Evidently  Roghanath  Guj  was  changed ; 
ill,  perhaps  ?  No,  said  and  swore  his  keeper,  there  was 
nothing  the  matter.  His  dulness,  that  sombre  air  which 
excited  surprise  and  suspicion,  was  nothing  more  than  a 
little  irritability  caused  by  the  extremely  hot  weather.  So 
Barras  yielded  his  better  judgment  to  greater  experience, 
and  the  consequence  was  that  the  next  day,  while  beating 
for  a  tiger,  the  elephant  suddenly  rushed  upon  one  of  the 
attendants,  and  would  have  killed  him  if  the  man  had 
not  taken  off  his  turban  and  left  it  on  a  bush,  while 
he  himself  slipped  down  into  the  shade  of  a  deep  ravine. 


72  Wild  Beasts 


From  this  time  forth  Roghanath  Guj  was  picketed  by 
himself. 

"Two  days  after,"  says  Barras,  "  we  arrived  at  a  small 
village," — Mehra, —  "and  close  to  it  there  were  some 
enormous  Banyan  trees,  under  which  the  elephants  were 
secured.  Opposite  to  them,  on  the  other  side  of  a  small 
clearing,  stood  our  little  camp.  Here,  after  a  long  and 
unsuccessful  day's  beating  after  a  wary  tiger,  we  enjoyed 
our  late  dinner,  and  had  just  sought  our  couches,  clad  for 
the  night  in  our  light  sleeping-suits,  when  a  burst  of 
affrighted  cries  broke  upon  our  ears.  The  tumult  pro- 
ceeded from  the  direction  of  the  great  tree  where  Rog- 
hanath Guj  stood  in  solitude. 

"  We  instantly  rushed  for  our  guns,  and  seized  a  hurri- 
cane lamp.  We  made  all  haste  in  our  slippered  feet  to 
the  scene  of  action.  As  we  got  within  twenty  yards  of  the 
elephant,  Ghassee  Ram  (his  driver)  called  to  us  to  halt. 
The  animal,  he  said,  was  obeying  him,  and  if  nothing 
further  incensed  him,  he  would  be  able  to  tie  up  his  hind 
legs  with  a  rope,  when  he  would  be  incapable  (the  fore- 
limbs  being  already  chained)  of  doing  any  more  mischief. 
So  we  stood  where  we  were,  and  waited  in  great  anxiety, 
whilst  we  could  hear  the  mahout  uttering  the  word  Som- 
Sdm,  which  is  the  order  for  an  elephant  to  keep  his  hind 
quarters  towards  any  one  who  may  be  washing,  or  other- 
wise attending  to  him.  The  night  was  as  dark  as  pitch ; 
nothing  could  be  seen.  According  to  the  different  cries  of 
the  excited  people,  however,  it  was  clear  that  something 
had  happened  to  the  under-keeper  of  Roghanath  Guj. 
Some  said  he  was  dead,  some  that  he  had  escaped  from  his 


The  Elephant  73 


terrible  assailant.  I  called  to  the  other  elephant-keepers, 
but  they  had  all  gone  with  their  animals,  I  knew  not 
whither,  on  the  first  alarm. 

"  Meanwhile  Ghassee  Ram  was  left  quite  alone  to  deal 
with  the  enraged  beast.  Of  course  we  talked  to  him 
all  the  time,  and  were  prepared  to  rush  in  and  fire,  as 
well  as  we  could,  if  he  called  upon  us  to  do  so.  Every 
chance,  however,  would  have  been  against  our  disabling 
the  elephant,  who,  maddened  by  such  wounds  as  he  might 
have  received,  would  have  worked  untold  destruction  dur- 
ing the  long  dark  hours  of  a  moonless  night.  To  the 
pluck  of  Ghassee  Ram  must  be  ascribed  the  avoidance  of 
such  a  calamity.  In  a  few  minutes,  which  seemed  an  age, 
the  mahout  called  out  that  we  might  advance.  We  did  so, 
and  never  shall  I  forget  the  weirdness  of  the  scene  that 
was  lighted  up  by  the  bright  rays  of  the  lamp  I  carried. 

"  Under  the  tree,  and  with  his  back  to  its  stem,  towered 
the  dark  form  of  the  elephant,  whilst  his  mahout,  a  mere 
speck,  stood  a  little  to  his  right.  No  other  living  being 
was  visible,  but  close  to  the  animal,  on  the  opposite  side 
from  Ghassee  Ram,  lay  a  small,  shapeless  object,  which  a 
second  glance  showed  to  be  the  missing  man.  The  ele- 
phant, with  his  ears  raised,  seemed  to  be  keeping  guard 
over  his  victim,  and  would  probably  kill  any  one  who  should 
attempt  to  remove  the  body,  which  lay  within  reach  of  his 
trunk.  Still,  this  must  be  done,  and  at  once,  for  life  might 
yet  be  lingering  in  the  shattered  frame.  I  therefore  gave 
the  hurricane  lamp  to  the  mahout,  and  ordered  him  to 
swing  it  up  in  the  elephant's  face,  and  call  out  his  name 
at  the  same  time.  Ghassee  Ram,  from  the  long  habit  of 


74  Wild  Beasts 


commanding  this  huge  animal,  had  acquired  some  power- 
ful tones.  As  he  swung  the  lamp,  that  hung  by  a  large 
ring,  in  the  elephant's  face,  and  cried  out  '  Roghanath  Guj, 
Roghanath  Guj,'  the  animal  seemed  deeply  impressed. 
As  the  light  ascended  for  the  third  time  towards  his  daz- 
zled eyes,  I  darted  from  between  my  two  friends,  who 
stood  covering  the  elephant  with  their  guns,  and  drew 
forth  the  unfortunate  keeper.  He  was  terribly  mangled, 
and  quite  dead."  This  elephant  was  semi-delirious,  and 
in  that  state  the  wild  beast  nature,  which  had  been  cov- 
ered by  a  thin  layer  of  educational  polish,  came  out  under 
the  stimulus  of  some  passing  irritation.  His  mahout  saw 
the  man  struck  down,  and  interfered  ;  but  the  animal  was 
only  restrained  by  his  voice  for  a  moment,  and  then  com- 
pleted the  murder.  He  was  not  wholly  demented,  how- 
ever ;  for  Colonel  Barras  says,  "  I  could  not  but  be  touched 
by  the  affection  this  huge  creature  displayed,  even  in  his 
madness,  towards  the  only  two  people  he  loved,  —  Ghassee 
Ram  and  myself.  I  fed  him  every  day  from  my  hand, 
and  he  never  failed  to  clank  his  heavy  chains,  and  turn 
round  to  watch  me  till  I  disappeared  in  my  tent"  on  leaving 
him." 

It  is  probable  that  many  persons  whose  minds  are  made 
up  on  the  subject  of  elephants,  may  see  nothing  in  this 
account  but  a  case  of  perversion  due  to  disease,  and  will 
pass  by  the  elephant's  evident  power  of  self-restraint  and 
discrimination  as  of  no  significance ;  contending  that 
Roghanath  Guj,  like  all  his  kind,  was  naturally  benevolent 
and  amiable.  Likewise,  that  the  vagaries  belonging  to 
certain  forms  of  mental  alienation,  temporary  and  chronic, 


The  Elephant  75 


are  of  the  most  eccentric  and  various  character,  and  that 
this  instance  proves  nothing  with  regard  to  the  elephant's 
inherent  nature.  As  a  mere  matter  of  reasoning,  the 
objection  is  valid,  and  logically  it  is  unanswerable;  but, 
perhaps,  some  of  those  who  believe  that  these  brutes 
possess  virtues  of  which  most  men  are  nearly  destitute,  will 
inform  the  world  why  "  must  "-delirium  or  actual  insanity 
in  an  elephant,  always  takes  the  form  of  homicidal  mania. 


THE   LION 

the  earliest  times,"  says  the  writer  on  this 
subject  in  the  "  Encyclopaedia  Britannica,"  "  few 
animals  have  been  better  known  to  man  than  the  lion." 
It  is  precisely  because  of  this  knowledge,  for  the  most 
part  purely  imaginary,  that  the  real  lion  is  less  known  than 
almost  any  of  the  other  great  wild  beasts.  Not  so  much 
in  this  case  on  account  of  the  paucity  of  facts  as  from  a 
plethora  of  fiction,  his  actual  character  has  very  imperfectly 
come  to  light. 

Since  Aristotle  there  have  always  been  naturalists  who 
contended  for  two  species  of  these  animals,  and  sometimes 
more. 

In  Greece,  classification  was  made  on  the  basis  of  size ; 
in  Rome,  upon  that  of  color.  With  regard  to  the  first, 
Sir  Samuel  Baker  remarks  that  the  lions  of  Cutch  and 
Guzrat  are  perhaps  not  so  large  as  their  African  con- 
geners ;  but  according  to  Dr.  Jerdon  ("  Mammals  of 
India  ")  measurements  show  that  they  are  fully  equal  in 
this  respect.  Gerard,  Livingstone,  and  others  notice  very 
discernible  local  contrasts  in  bulk  among  them  in  different 
parts  of  Africa  itself,  and  it  has  been  maintained  by  many 
that  the  lion  grows  smaller  as  one  goes  south  from  the  Atlas. 
Major  Smee  has  also  been  largely  followed  in  his  opinion 

76 


The  Lion  77 


that  the  Asiatic,  or  more  particularly  the  Indian,  lion  is 
maneless.  Dr.  Blyth,  however,  was  able  to  demonstrate 
from  the  specimens  in  the  Calcutta  Museum  that  this  was 
not  the  case,  and  his  view  of  the  accidental  character  of 
this  deficiency  is  no  doubt  the  true  one.  Frederick 
Courteney  Selous  ("A  Hunter's  Wanderings  in  Africa") 
paid  particular  attention  to  this  feature,  and  he  states  that 
"  out  of  fifty  male  lion  skins,  scarcely  two  will  be  found 
alike  in  the  color  or  length  of  mane  "  ;  he  adds  that,  judg- 
ing from  the  same  facts  which  those  who  multiply  natural 
groups  rely  upon,  "it  would  be  as  reasonable  to  suppose 
that  there  are  twenty  species  as  two." 

This  is  but  a  hint  at  those  discrepancies  which  have 
arisen  from  attaching  different  values  to  external  and 
secondary  characteristics.  Antagonisms  of  this  kind  are 
overabundant,  still  there  is  no  doubt  that  wherever  lions 
now  exist,  they  are  specifically  the  same.  There  is  but  one 
genus  of  lion,  with  a  single  species,  whose  members  vary 
in  size,  skin-appendages,  color,  temper,  and  habits,  with 
the  physiography  of  those  provinces  they  inhabit,  and 
of  their  human  population,  with  breed,  age,  temperament, 
special  environment,  and  their  personal  experience  of  men 
and  things. 

Sir  Samuel  Baker  ("  The  Rifle  and  Hound  in  Ceylon  ") 
remarks  in  the  course  of  his  observations  upon  the  Cin- 
galese buffalo  that  no  individual  opinion  upon  the  traits 
and  disposition  of  an  animal  "can  be  depended  upon," 
unless  its  pursuit  "has  been  followed  as  a  sport  by  itself." 
The  results  of  many  hunters'  experiences  are,  however,  on 
record,  and  so  far  as  facts  go,  we  are  actually  possessed 


78  Wild  Beasts 


of  a  more  varied  and  extensive  acquaintance  with  the 
species  than  any  individual  contact  with  it  would  be  likely 
to  give. 

There  is  much  that  is  inadequate  and  also  illusory 
in  Gerard's  descriptions.  Still,  he  met  the  formidable 
adversaries  he  encountered  in  a  heroic  spirit,  and  had  seen 
them  face  to  face  too  often  not  to  be  disabused  of  many 
errors.  The  sultan  of  the  desert  as  known  by  him  did  not 
fear  man,  was  not  abashed  in  his  presence,  and  could  not 
be  quelled  by  his  eye.  On  the  contrary,  an  attempt  to 
stare  him  out  of  countenance  was,  as  Sir  Samuel  Baker 
observes,  the  surest  means  to  provoke  an  attack.  Gerard's 
experience  carried  him  too  far.  He  only  knew  the  lions 
of  Algeria  and  Oran,  but  he  thought  that  these  animals 
were  the  same  everywhere.  Such  is  not  the  case.  The 
race  is  now  extinct  in  great  areas  where  it  was  once 
distributed.  No  trace  of  it  is  left  in  many  countries  of 
Asia  Minor,  and  it  is  dying  out  in  Western  Asia  and 
India.  In  some  regions  man  has  exterminated  the  lion 
or  driven  him  away,  and  there  are  other  districts  where  this 
animal  has  learned  that  the  battle  nearly  always  goes 
against  him,  and  where  he  now  has  to  be  forced  to  fight. 
On  the  other  hand,  certain  tribes  cower  before  lions, 
and  this  does  not  fail  to  change  the  relations  they  sustain 
towards  mankind. 

This  imposing  animal  makes  its  appearance  in  art  and 
literature  very  early.  Frequent  mention  is  made  of  it  in 
the  Cuneiform  tablets  and  Hebrew  Scriptures.  In  Pen- 
taur's  Egyptian  Epic  upon  the  War  of  Rameses  II.  against 
the  Cheta  or  Hittites,  lions  are  said  to  have  accompanied 


The  Lion  79 


the  king's  chariot,  and  fought  as  the  Greek  mastiffs  (the 
dogs  of  Molossos)  did  at  Marathon,  or  those  of  the  British 
during  Caesar's  invasion.  Herodotus  ("  Polymnia  ")  states 
that  when  Xerxes'  hordes  were  moving  in  the  country  that 
lay  between  the  rivers  Nestos  in  Abedra,  and  Achelous 
of  Acarnania,  the  camel  trains  suffered  much  loss  from 
the  attacks  of  these  animals.  He  informs  us  that  their 
range  was  restricted  to  this  district,  and  expresses  his 
surprise  that  camels,  being  creatures  that  these  lions 
had  never  seen  and  might  have  been  supposed  to  shun, 
were  their  especial  victims.  After  Herodotus,  when  the 
Greeks  began  to  write  about  everything  that  attracted 
their  attention,  much  was  said  in  one  way  or  another 
concerning  lions,  but  it  amounted  to  no  more  than  the 
little  that  can  be  found  in  Roman  archives.  It  really 
seems  as  if  classic  writers  left  out  on  purpose  everything 
that  one  would  have  cared  most  to  know.  Not  even  the 
minute  and  laborious  scholarship  of  the  sixteenth  century, 
devoted  as  it  mainly  was  to  the  explication  of  antiquity,  has 
succeeded  in  extracting  from  these  records  any  informa- 
tion which  is  at  all  commensurate  with  the  opportunities 
afforded  for  observation  in  ancient  times.  The  lion  occu- 
pied an  exceptional  position  then  as  now ;  he  was  a  fav- 
orite subject  for  poetic  allusion,  for  epigram,  and  rhetorical 
flourishes.  But  his  character  was  as  much  a  conventional 
one  at  that  time  as  it  is  at  present.  This  may  be  also 
seen  in  art,  where,  whether  sculptured  and  painted,  or  set 
in  mosaics,  he  was  depicted  in  what  were  supposed  to 
be  characteristic  attitudes  from  Persepolis  and  the  rock 
tablets  of  Kaf  to  the  Sea  of  Darkness,  and  from  the 


8o  Wild  Beasts 


banks  of  the  Orontes  to  the  cities  of  Africa.  He  im- 
pressed antiquity  as  he  has  done  the  modern  world,  and 
so  far  as  disposition  and  personal  qualities  are  concerned, 
most  of  what  was  known  or  thought  then  might  have 
been  condensed  into  the  modern  statement  of  his  traits 
given  in  the  French  " C yclopddie"  \  namely,  that  he  was 
"  si  fort  et  si  courageux,  qiion  Va  appellt  le  roi  des 
animaux" 

What  amount  of  truth  there  is  in  this  view  we  shall 
see ;  in  the  mean  time  it  is  natural  enough  to  regret 
that  those  who  might  have  accomplished  so  much,  have 
in  fact  done  so  little.  Varro,  Columella,  Aulus  Gellius,  and 
others  wrote  on  game  and  hunting,  but  classic  notices  of 
a  venatio  in  the  amphitheatre  are  as  terse  and  colorless  as 
entries  in  a  log-book.  Marsian  boars,  or  wolves  from  the 
Apennines  were  the  most  formidable  creatures  an  ancient 
Italian  could  find  in  his  own  country,  and  Virgil  congrat- 
ulates himself  that  such  was  the  case.  "  Rabidce  tigres 
absunt  et  saeva  leonum  semina"  But  the  scribblers  in 
prose  and  verse  who  expatiated  upon  fish-ponds,  nets,  gins, 
snares,  Celtic,  Lycaonian,  and  Umbrian  hounds,  with  all 
the  appliances  of  petty  sport,  where  were  they  while  the 
Ludi  Circenses  were  going  on  ?  How  was  it  that  these 
men,  who  gossiped  about  everything,  never  chatted  with 
the  keepers  of  that  great  Vivaritim  near  the  Praenestine 
gate,  where  there  were  often  wild  beasts  enough  to  stock 
the  menageries  of  the  modern  world  ?  Why  did  they  not 
tell  of  the  fleets  laden  with  such  cargoes  that  came  to 
Ostia,  interview  the  men  who  brought  them  as  they  drank 
rough  Massic  together  in  the  taverns  under  the  Janiculum, 


The  Lion  81 


or  report  the  talk  of  those  dark  satellites  who  guarded 
the  vivaria  of  the  Colosseum  or  theatre  of  Marcellus  ? 

The  reason  was  this  :  independently  of  everything  else, 
a  Roman  of  those  days  was  satiated  with  the  sight  of  actual 
slaughter  until  all  that  now  fascinates  the  attention  and 
enthralls  the  interest  of  a  reader  of  adventures  had  be- 
come insipid.  The  bestiariiy  or  wild  beast  fighters,  were 
a  class  apart  from  other  gladiators.  So  far  as  our  meagre 
supply  of  information  goes,  these  men  did  not  meet  a  royal 
tiger  as  a  Ghoorka  now  does ;  that  is  to  say,  did  not  trust 
to  perfect  nerve,  training,  and  activity,  to  avoid  the  brute's 
onset,  and  slay  it  by  striking  at  advantage ;  they  appeared 
in  armor  and  actually  fought  with  sword  or  spear.  Con- 
sidering the  style  in  which  lions  and  tigers  combat,  one  can- 
not divine  the  use  made  of  any  defensive  panoply,  which, 
so  far  as  we  can  judge,  would  seem  to  have  been  more  of 
an  encumbrance  than  an  aid.  An  iron  sword  two  feet 
long  (for  the  much-talked-of  Iberian  steel  was  most  likely 
only  a  good  quality  of  untempered  metal)  could  hardly 
have  availed  a  hampered  man  in  a  hand-to-hand  struggle 
of  this  kind,  except  in  case  of  accidents  that  must  have 
been  of  rare  occurrence.  Julius  Caesar's  Thessalian  horse- 
men chased  giraffes  around  the  arena  until  they  were  ex- 
hausted, and  then  killed  them  with  a  dagger  thrust  at  the 
junction  of  the  spine  and  head ;  but  it  is  safe  to  say  that 
no  bestiarius  armed  with  a  venabulum  went  through  any 
performances  of  this  kind  with  a  black  rhinoceros.  Yet 
every  formidable  animal  on  earth  perished  upon  "  a  Roman 
holiday."  That  is,  however,  all  we  know. 

It  is  now  the  fashion  to  say  that  lions  are  such  timid 
G 


82  Wild  Beasts 


creatures  that  they  might  be  expected  to  do  little  injury 
if  they  got  out  of  their  cages  in  the  presence  of  a  crowd. 
When,  writes  Plutarch,  the  city  of  Megara  was  stormed  by 
Calamus,  their  keepers  or  the  authorities  loosed  those 
lions  kept  for  the  games  —  "  opened  their  dens,  and  un- 
chained them  in  the  streets  to  stop  the  enemy's  onslaught. 
But  instead  of  that  they  fell  upon  the  citizens  and  tore 
them  in  such  a  manner  that  their  very  foes  were  struck 
with  horror."  Another  curious  comment  upon  the  timid 
and  retiring  behavior  of  these  animals  is  found  in  the  fact 
that  while  they  were  protected  in  Africa  (preserved  for  the 
spectacles)  by  cruel  game  laws  which  deprived  people  of 
the  natural  right  of  self-defence,  the  loss  of  life  in  that 
province  was  so  great  that  it  excited  compassion  even  in 
Rome,  and  finally  led  to  the  mitigation  of  these  statutes 
by  Honorius,  and  their  final  abolition  during  the  reign  of 
Justinian. 

Moffat  ( "  Missionary  Labors  and  Scenes  in  South 
Africa  "  )  had  the  reputation  of  knowing  more  about  lions 
than  almost  any  one  else,  and  it  was  his  opinion  that  eying 
them  was  a  very  questionable  proceeding.  Both  he  and 
Andersson  ("  The  Lion  and  the  Elephant  ")  say  that  this 
experiment  may  sometimes  apparently  succeed,  but  "un- 
der ordinary  circumstances"  a  hungry  lion  "does  not 
spend  any  time  gazing  on  the  human  eye  .  .  .  but  takes 
the  easiest  and  most  expeditious  means  of  making  a  meal 
of  a  man."  It  is  not  very  often  that  things  so  arrange 
themselves  as  to  give  any  one  a  chance  to  try  what  effect 
can  be  produced  in  this  way ;  still  everything  that  could 
happen  has  happened,  and  combining  what  follows  with 


The  Lion  83 


the  statements  already  made,  it  would  appear  that   this 
much-talked-of  personal  power  is  a  delusion. 

"A  lion,"  writes  the  Hon.  W.  H.  Drummond  ("The 
Large  Game  and  Natural  History  of  South  and  South-east 
Africa  "  )  "  will  seldom  stand  much  bullying.  He  may  and 
often  will  get  out  of  your  way,  nay,  even  leave  his  prey  if 
you  approach  it,  and  should  you  follow  him,  will  perhaps 
do  so  a  second  time,  but  that  is  about  the  extent  of  it." 
If  interference  is  pushed  further,  the  lion,  "if  a  male, 
growls  deeply,  and  makes  his  mane  bristle  up  round  him  ; 
or,  if  a  lioness,  crouches  down  like  a  cat,  lays  her  ears 
back,  and  shows  her  teeth,  and  in  most  such  cases,  when 
the  brute  is  fairly  roused,  a  charge  is  inevitable  whether 
you  advance  or  retreat."  On  the  other  hand,  "  some  lions 
make  a  point  of  attacking  every  human  being  they  meet, 
without  provocation  or  apparent  cause."  This  is  unusual, 
but  "  there  are  many  instances  of  lions  having  evidently 
attacked  a  human  being  from  no  other  cause  than  surprise 
or  fear  at  suddenly  finding  themselves  so  close  to  him.  .  .  . 
In  the  above  cases,  utter  immobility  and  coolness  will  often 
avert  an  attack  ;  for  if  the  animal,  judging  by  your  behav- 
ior, imagines  that  you  do  not  want  to  hurt  it,  it  will,  after 
trying  you  for  several  minutes,  and  even  making  one  or 
two  sham  charges,  often  walk  away  and  allow  you  to  do 
the  same.  .  .  .  Several  instances  of  this  have  occurred 
within  my  own  knowledge.  A  large  native  hunting  party 
had  gone  out  and  were  scattered  among  the  thorns,  when 
one  of  my  gun-bearers,  who  had  accompanied  it,  suddenly 
found  himself  face  to  face  with  a  full-grown  male  lion, 
without  a  yard  between  them.  He  had  presence  of  mind 


84  Wild  Beasts 


sufficient  to  stand  perfectly  still,  without  attempting  to 
take  one  of  the  spears  he  carried  in  his  left  hand  into  the 
other,  and  after  a  couple  of  minutes  the  brute  walked 
away,  turning  its  head  round  every  second  to  watch  him. 

"  This  could  not  be  attributed  to  the  efficacy  of  the 
human  eye,  as  the  man  afterwards  told  me  that  he  had  not 
dared  to  raise  his  from  the  ground.  This  lion  before  going 
far  met  another  native,  who  raised  his  spear,  as  if  to  throw 
it ;  upon  which  it  instantly  sprang  upon  him,  and  inflicted 
such  wounds  that  he  died  within  half  an  hour.  I  have  no 
doubt  that  if  this  man  had  stood  still,  he  would  have  been 
perfectly  safe." 

A  still  more  striking  example  of  the  fact  that  lions,  un- 
less hungry,  enraged  or  alarmed,  often  pass  man  by  is 
given  by  Drummond  as  follows  :  "  A  hunter  of  mine  was 
following  fhe  trail  of  a  herd  of  buffalo  through  some  dense 
thickets,  alone,  and  armed  only  with  a  single  barrel.  Sud- 
denly a  male  lion  rose  out  of  one  of  them,  and  sitting  on 
his  hind  quarters,  snarled  at  him  ;  he  had  hardly  seen  it 
when  another,  about  three-quarters  grown,  showed  itself 
within  a  few  yards  on  one  side,  while  from  behind  he  could 
hear  the  low  rumbling  growl  of  a  third.  Partly  turning  so 
as  to  watch  them  all,  he  saw  that  the  latter  was  a  lioness, 
and  that  three  cubs  not  much  larger  than  cats  were  follow- 
ing her.  He  had,  unawares,  got  into  the  centre  of  a  lion 
family.  Unfortunately,  one  of  the  cubs  saw  him,  and  with- 
out exhibiting  the  least  fear,  ran  up  to  him  ;  upon  which 
its  mother,  in  terror  for  her  offspring,  rushed  up,  and,  as 
he  afterwards  described  it,  fairly  danced  round  and  round 
him,  springing  to  within  a  yard  of  him,  sideways,  back- 


The  Lion  85 


wards,  and  in  every  way  but  on  him.  Luckily  he  was  a 
man  of  iron  nerve,  and  bred  from  the  cradle  in  scenes  like 
this  ;  he  therefore  remained  quiet,  taking  no  more  notice 
of  the  frantic  behavior  of  the  lioness  than  if  she  had  not 
existed ;  for,  as  he  said,  it  was  a  hundred  to  one  that  I  did 
not  kill  the  mother,  and,  if  I  had,  the  other  two  would 
have  avenged  her."  It  ended  by  her  ultimately  retiring  into 
the  thicket,  and  watching  him  as  he  cleared  out ;  but  there 
can  be  no  doubt  that  any  hesitation,  nervousness,  or  invol- 
untary movement  on  his  part  would  have  been  fatal. 

In  his  description  of  the  lion,  Buffon  ("  Histoire  Natu- 
relle")  has  delivered  a  number  of  opinions  based  upon 
imperfect  knowledge.  This  animal,  he  says,  owes  its  char- 
acteristics to  climate  alone.  Lions  only  inhabit  tropical 
countries,  and  among  the  denizens  of  hot  latitudes  they 
are  "  le  plus  fort,  le  plus  fier,  le  phis  terrible  de  tous"  On 
the  Atlas  Mountains,  where  snow  sometimes  falls,  these 
beasts  have  neither  the  strength,  size,  courage,  nor  ferocity 
of  those  who  roam  the  southern  plains,  and  for  the  same 
reason,  the  lion  of  America,  if  it  deserves  that  name,  is 
but  an  inferior  beast.  Man  has  greatly  circumscribed  the 
range  of  Felis  leo,  and  the  natural  character  of  existing 
varieties  has  been  greatly  changed  through  his  inventions. 
Formerly  lions  were  bolder  than  they  are  at  present ;  still, 
in  the  Sahara  and  other  places,  it  happens  that  "  un  seul 
de  ses  lions  du  desert  attaque  souvent  une  caravane  entiere" 
Owing  to  its  brave  and  magnanimous  character,  a  lion 
only  takes  life  when  compelled  to  do  so  by  hunger.  Cer- 
tain moral  qualities  may  be  said  to  inhere  in  the  species 
at  large,  but  there  are  also  individual  lions  that  add  to 


86  Wild  Beasts 


these  endowments  of  their  race  the  finest  personal  traits. 
More  than  one  species  of  this  genus  exists,  and  an  average 
lion  is  about  twelve  or  thirteen  feet  long.  He  is  less  keen 
of  sight,  ^nd  has  not  so  good  an  organ  of  scent  as  other 
beasts  of  prey,  and  for  this  reason  lions  make  use  of  jack- 
als in  hunting.  All  animals  they  pursue  live  upon  the 
ground,  and  in  consequence  it  is  not  customary  with  them 
to  climb  trees  like  the  tiger  and  puma  —  "  il  ne grimpe  pas 
sur  les  arbres  comme  le  tigre  ou  le  puma"  Their  attack 
is  always  made  from  an  ambush,  whence  the  victim  is 
sprung  upon  and  struck  down ;  but  it  is  not  devoured 
until  after  life  is  extinct. 

All  this,  it  may  be  repeated,  is  erroneous.  Climate 
alone  does  not  form  geographical  varieties.  Species  re- 
quire to  be  adjusted  to  the  whole  physiography  of  their 
respective  regions,  and  to  their  organic  environments  as 
well.  The  lion  inhabits  temperate  latitudes  where  the 
weather  is  often  cold,  and  it  is  on  those  parallels  which 
in  Africa  run  north  and  south  of  the  equatorial  belt,  that 
he  attains  his  highest  development. 

With  respect  to  the  lion  of  the  Atlas,  Major  Leveson 
("  Hunting  Grounds  of  the  Old  World  "),  General  Daumas 
("Les  Chevaux  du  Sahara  "),  and  Gerard  ("Journal  des 
Chasseurs  ")  have  shown  that  it  is  larger  than  its  congener 
further  south.  Buffon's  thirteen  feet  lions  belong  to  an 
earlier  geological  period  than  ours ;  no  such  specimens  of 
the  cat  kind  are  at  present  alive,  but  his  tribute  to  the 
courage  of  the  king  of  beasts  is  not  perhaps  altogether  un- 
deserved. Of  course  there  is  nothing  in  his  remarks 
about  magnanimity  and  the  like,  and  as  for  a  single  lion 


The  Lion  87 


attacking  a  caravan,  the  statement  is  absurd.  Lions  and 
troops  of  lions  are  described  by  many  observers  —  Le 
Vaillant,  Gumming,  Oswell,  Harris,  Davidson,  Kerr  —  as 
having  forayed  upon  encampments  in  various  ways,  but 
there  is  no  authentic  account  of  any  incident  such  as 
Buffon  relates.  > 

What  he  says  about  the  animal's  deficiency  in  sight  and 
scenting  power  is  not  supported  in  any  way  by  facts. 
There  is  nothing  in  the  creature's  anatomy  to  warrant 
such  an  assertion.  Its  olfactory  apparatus  is  well  devel- 
oped, and  as  it  is  a  beast  of  prey,  and  belongs  to  a  family 
distinguished  for  keenness  of  scent,  there  is  no  reason  to 
think  that  this  function  does  not  correspond  with  its  struc- 
ture. Neither  is  there  anything,  so  far  as  the  writer 
knows,  in  the  better  class  of  observations  made  upon  lions, 
to  indicate  any  deficiency  in  this  respect.  With  reference 
to  sight,  if  Buffon  meant  more  than  that  they,  as  being 
nocturnal  in  habit,  are  at  a  disadvantage  in  the  sun's  glare, 
it  was,  we  must  believe,  a  mistake  upon  his  part.  Their 
organ  of  sight  is  structurally  of  a  high  order ;  it  is  so  placed 
that  the  range  of  vision  is  large,  and  no  good  authority  has 
disparaged  the  lion's  far-sightedness,  or  the  defining  power 
of  his  eye. 

None  of  the  great  cats  is,  however,  strictly  nocturnal 
except  in  places  where  they  are  constantly  pursued.  Lions 
frequently  stalk  or  drive  game  while  the  sun  is  up ;  they 
see  perfectly  well  during  these  hours,  and  it  is  evidently 
a  mistake  to  give  the  primary  importance  commonly  at- 
tributed to  it  to  a  peculiarity  of  vision  which  the  Felidce 
have  in  common  with  other  classes. 


88  Wild  Beasts 


Buffon's  opinion  of  the  use  to  which  lions  put  jackals 
falls  to  the  ground  before  facts.  It  is  an  old  idea  that 
they,  and  tigers  also,  employ  them  as  scouts ;  nevertheless 
it  would  appear  that  the  true  relation  has  been  overlooked, 
and  that  it  is  the  jackal  who  uses  the  lion.  When  a  lion 
leaves  his  lair  he  always  roars,  and  if  any  jackals  are  in  the 
vicinity,  the  sound  attracts  them  at  once  ;  it  is  like  an  invi- 
tation to  a  meal,  for  these  satellites  feast  upon  the  offal. 
Similarly,  as  the  lion's  majestic  form  moves  with  long  and 
soft  but  heavy  tread  through  the  gloom,  every  jackal 
that  sights  the  grim  hunter  follows  him. 

In  works  on  natural  history  lions  are  classed  among  the 
educabilia.  There  is,  however,  a  certain  ludicrousness  in 
distinguishing  this  animal  as  one  that  can  be  taught.  So 
can  a  flea.  Every  creature  with  a  nervous  system  may  be 
and  is  instructed  in  some  manner.  All  living  things  so 
provided  learn,  though  not  necessarily  through  tuition, 
nor  in  all  cases  consoiously.  Dr.  Maudsley's  remark 
("Physiology  and  Pathology  of  the  Mind"),  that  "a  spinal 
cord  without  memory  would  be  an  idiotic  spinal  cord," 
is  full  of  meaning.  Wherever  a  nervous  arc  exists,  there  is 
memory  and  the  potentialities  of  mind.  The  central  axis 
is  nothing  more  than  an  integrated  series  of  such  con- 
nected arcs  ending  in  a  brain  when  the  animal  is  suffi- 
ciently elevated. 

A  whelp  is  born  in  the  spring,  or  towards  the  close  of 
winter,  a  little  sooner  or  later,  as  the  latitude  varies. 
Before  this  event  the  parents  have  fixed  upon  some 
solitary  spot  in  which  to  establish  themselves.  The 
mother's  character  undergoes  a  temporary  change  for 


The  Lion  89 


the  better  during  the  period  of  maternity.  While  the 
pairing  season  lasts  she  is  a  shameless  wanton,  ready  at 
any  moment  to  abandon  her  mate  for  a  stronger  rival. 
Desperate  combats  accompany  the  lion's  courtship,  in 
which  both  parties  are  frequently  killed,  and  in  almost 
all  instances  these  are  brought  on  by  the  lioness,  who 
seems  to  take  a  savage  pleasure  in  provoking  such  duels. 

Gerard  gives  the  following  story,  which  is  in  all  essen- 
tials a  true  picture  of  the  behavior  of  both  males  and 
females  at  the  time  spoken  of.  "  It  was  in  the  stags'  rut- 
ting season,  and  Mohammed,  a  great  hunter  of  every  kind 
of  wild  animal,  perched  himself  at  sunset  in  the  boughs 
of  an  oak  tree  to  watch  for  a  doe  that  had  been  seen 
wandering  in  the  vicinity,  accompanied  by  several  stags. 
The  tree  he  climbed  stood  in  the  middle  of  a  large  clear- 
ing, and  near  it  was  a  path  which  led  into  the  neighbor- 
ing forest.  Towards  midnight  he  saw  a  lioness  enter 
this  open  space,  followed  by  a  red  lion,  with  a  full- 
grown  mane,  who  carried  the  carcass  of  an  ox.  Soon  after 
they  were  followed  by  another  lion,  a  lioness,  and  three 
cubs.  The  first  lioness  strolled  from  the  path,  and  came 
and  laid  herself  down  at  the  foot  of  the  oak,  while  the 
lion  remained  in  the  path,  and  seemed  to  be  listening  to 
some  sound  as  yet  inaudible  to  the  hunter. 

"  Mohammed  soon  heard  a  distant  roaring  in  the  forest, 
and  the  lioness  immediately  answered  it.  Then  the  lion 
commenced  to  roar  with  a  voice  so  loud  that  the  fright- 
ened man  let  his  gun  fall,  and  held  fast  to  the  branch  with 
both  hands  lest  he  should  tumble  from  the  tree. 

"As   the  voice   of   the   animal   heard  in  the  distance 


90  Wild  Beasts 


gradually  approached,  the  lioness  welcomed  him  with 
renewed  roarings,  and  the  lion,  restless,  went  and  came 
from  the  path  to  her,  as  if  he  wished  her  to  keep  silence, 
and  then,  from  the  lioness  to  the  path  again,  as  if  to  say, 
'  Let  the  vagabond  come ;  he  will  meet  his  match.' 

"  In  about  an  hour,  a  large  lion  as  black  as  a  wild  boar 
stepped  out  of  the  forest  and  stood  on  the  edge  of  the 
clearing  in  the  full  moonlight.  The  lioness  raised  herself 
up  to  go  to  him,  but  the  lion  anticipating  her  intention, 
rushed  before  her,  and  marched  straight  towards  his  ad- 
versary. With  measured  steps  and  slow  they  approached 
to  within  a  dozen  paces  of  each  other ;  their  great  heads 
high  in  air,  their  tails  slowly  sweeping  down  the  grass 
that  grew  around  them.  They  crouched  to  the  earth ;  a 
moment's  pause,  and  then  they  bounded  with  a  roar  high 
in  air,  and  rolled  upon  the  ground,  locked  in  their  last 
embrace. 

"  Their  struggle  was  long  and  fearful  to  the  involuntary 
witness  of  this  midnight  duel.  The  bones  of  the  combat- 
ants cracked  under  their  powerful  jaws,  their  talons 
strewed  the  grass  with  entrails,  and  painted  it  red  with 
blood,  and  their  roarings,  now  guttural,  now  sharp  and 
loud,  told  of  their  rage  and  agony. 

"  At  the  beginning  of  the  conflict  the  lioness  crouched 
low,  with  her  eyes  fixed  on  the  gladiators,  and  all  the 
while  the  battle  raged,  manifested,  by  the  slow,  cat-like 
motion  of  her  tail,  the  pleasure  she  felt  at  the  spectacle. 
When  the  scene  closed,  and  all  was  still  and  quiet  in  the 
moonlit  glade,  she  cautiously  approached  the  spot,  and 
snuffling  at  the  bodies  of  her  two  lovers,  walked  leisurely 


The  Lion  91 


away,  without  deigning  to  notice  the  gross  but  appropriate 
epithet  Mohammed  sent  after  her,  instead  of  a  bullet,  as 
she  went  off." 

This  otherwise  excellent  sketch  loses  something  of  its 
vraisemblance  from  carelessness  and  inaccuracy  in  execu- 
tion, and  also  from  an  unfortunate  style,  which  gives  to 
most  French  narratives  of  this  kind,  however  true,  the  air 
of  romances.  Ge"rard  knew  that  a  doe  is  never  accom- 
panied for  any  length  of  time  by  several  stags,  and  there 
can  be  no  excuse  for  making  a  lion  range  the  woods  with 
an  ox  in  his  mouth. 

When  cubs  are  about  two  months  old,  they  begin  to 
forage  in  the  vicinity  of  their  lair.  This  hunting,  how- 
ever, is  more  than  half  play,  for  they  are  sprightly  little 
creatures  whose  gambols  and  infantile  familiarities  soon 
become  distasteful  to  the  grave  and  morose  nature  of  their 
father.  The  lion  then  takes  up  his  quarters  out  of  their 
reach,  but  at  the  same  time  near  enough  to  come  to  the 
assistance  of  his  family  if  aid  should  be  needed.  Two 
cubs  as  a  rule  are  born  together,  and  one  of  these  is 
generally  a  male.  If  the  birth  be  single,  this  is  said  to 
be  invariably  the  case,  so  that  the  fact  that  males  con- 
siderably outnumber  females  is  accounted  for,  and  with  it 
both  the  wantonness  of  the  latter,  and  those  trials  to  which 
their  consorts  are  exposed.  The  race  maintains  its  place 
by  the  sacrifice  of  its  weaker  numbers.  The  strongest 
whelps  and  most  powerful  lions  live,  mate,  and  kill  or 
dispossess  their  rivals.  Sexual  selection  on  the  lionesses' 
part  aids  this  process,  and  the  result  is,  as  everywhere 
and  always,  that  the  fittest  survive,  and  transmit  their 


Wild  Beasts 


traits  with  a  result  which  is  in  every  way  beneficial  to 
the  species. 

A  great  many  young  ones  die  while  cutting  their  teeth. 
If  this  has  been  accomplished  safely,  however,  their  edu- 
cation begins  immediately  after  that  event. 

A  lion  does  not  reach  maturity  until  the  eighth  year, 
and  he  lives  to  be  about  forty.  At  the  end  of  his  second 
year,  however,  the  animal  has  attained  considerable  size, 
strength,  and  agility,  while  his  predatory  tendencies  are 
then  more  freely  indulged  than  at  any  subsequent  period 
of  life.  Up  to  the  time  at  which  mutual  indifference 
separates  parents  and  offspring,  the  latter  have  been 
directed  and  assisted  in  all  things.  Game  has  been  found 
for  them,  and  methods  of  capture  and  killing  have  been 
illustrated.  Thus  far  experience  has  brought  with  it  only 
assurances  of  success.  They  have  been  incited  to  take 
life  for  practice,  encouraged  to  act  when  there  was  no 
necessity  for  acting,  guarded  from  the  consequences  of 
temerity  and  incapacity.  Therefore,  when  separation  takes 
place  and  they  go  forth  alone,  it  is  with  an  undue  self-con- 
fidence which  often  entails  disaster.  Young  lions  are 
notoriously  daring,  destructive,  and  dangerous. 

There  are  many  dogmatic  and  differing  decisions  with 
regard  to  the  manner  in  which  lions  seize,  kill,  and  eat  their 
victims,  as  also  in  respect  to  the  degree  in  which  their 
natural  ferocity  may  be  tempered  by  fear  or  discretion. 
There  must  be,  of  course,  a  family  likeness  among  them 
in  these  particulars,  but  no  such  uniformity  as  has  been 
imagined  can  be  found  in  their  behavior  when  a  wide 
enough  view  is  taken. 


The  Lion  93 


The  fanciful  opinion  that  a  lion  disdains  to  eat  game 
that  he  has  not  stricken  himself,  vanishes  at  once.  Derog- 
atory to  his  dignity  as  it  may  be,  the  fact  is  that  he  will 
consume  anything  he  finds  dead,  that  his  taste  is  of  the 
most  indiscriminate  character,  and  that  he  is  very  fre- 
quently a  foul  feeder.  "  Many  instances,"  says  Andersson 
("The  Lion  and  the  Elephant"),  "have  come  to  my 
knowledge  which  show  that  when  half  famished  he  will 
not  only  greedily  devour  the  leavings  of  other  beasts,  but 
even  condescend  to  carrion."  In  another  work  ("Lake 
N'gami")  the  same  author  states  that  lions  eat  carrion 
without  being  "  half  famished."  Sir  Samuel  Baker  ("  Nile 
Tributaries  of  Abyssinia  ")  saw  several  that  he  knew  were 
not  pressed  by  hunger  feeding  on  the  putrid  body  of  a 
buffalo  shot  by  himself,  and  Gerard  ("Journal  des  Chas- 
seurs ")  very  nearly  lost  his  life  by  a  lioness  who  had  come 
to  feed  upon  the  carcass  of  a  horse  in  the  last  stages  of 
decomposition  Lions  appropriate  any  meat  they  may 
happen  to  find.  "I  have  frequently  discovered  them 
feasting  on  quadrupeds  that  had  fallen  before  my  rifle," 
remarks  Colonel  Gumming  ("A  Hunter's  Life  in  Africa"). 
Major  Leveson  ("  Sport  in  Many  Lands  "),  W.  H.  Drum- 
mond  ("  The  Large  Game  and  Natural  History  of  South- 
ern Africa  "),  Colonel  Delgorgue,  ("Voyage  dans  I'Afrique 
Australe"),  Sir  W.  C.  Harris,  ("  Wild  Sports  in  Southern 
Africa"),  and  H.  C.  Selous  ("A  Hunter's  Wanderings 
in  Africa"),  all  confirm  the  assertion  that  "lions  are  by 
no  means  too  proud  to  eat  game  killed  by  others."  This 
charge  must  be  admitted,  and  it  is  entirely  conformable 
with  another;  namely,  that  his  majesty  is  one  of  the 


94  Wild  Beasts 


laziest  beings  alive.  "  Laziness,  assurance,  and  boldness," 
says  Gerard,  are  his  most  conspicuous  traits  of  character, 
and  Moffat  ("Missionary  Labors  and  Scenes  in  South 
Africa")  adds  gluttony  to  the  list.  He  was  " taken 
aback,"  he  assures  us,  by  the  astonishing  feats  in  the  way 
of  gormandizing  that  this  animal  performed.  It  should  be 
remembered,  however,  than  an  average  beast  of  prey 
passes  a  life  divided  into  alternate  periods  of  famine  and 
repletion,  and  that  it  is,  both  from  habit  and  conforma- 
tion, capable  of  cramming  itself  in  a  manner  which 
almost  exceeds  belief. 

There  is  hardly  need  to  cite  authorities  upon  the  act  of 
seizing  prey,  because  lions  do  so  in  all  those  ways  that 
different  observers  have  severally  decided  to  be  peculiar  to 
this  beast;  and  it  is  the  same  with  the  various  methods 
by  which  they  kill.  The  whole  subject  of  attack,  whether 
upon  man  or  beast,  is  wrapped  in  a  mass  of  positive  con- 
tradictions. 

In  India  troops  of  lions  have  been  known  to  divide 
themselves  into  sections  that  relieved  one  another  at  short 
intervals  in  the  actual  pursuit  of  game.  As  a  rule,  how- 
ever, species  belonging  to  this  group  do  not,  and  can  not, 
really  run  down  prey.  Their  peculiar  structure,  adapted  to 
bounding,  climbing,  and  brief  rushes,  does  not  admit  of  a 
long  gallop.  Their  limbs  are  too  massive  and  short,  and 
are  not  sufficiently  detached  from  the  body  to  give  them 
free  play.  Lions  have  been  called  "  the  most  cat-like  of  all 
cats,"  and  for  the  most  part  these  animals  ambush  or  stalk 
those  creatures  which  they  kill. 

When  a  lion  impelled  by  hunger  leaves  his  lair,  he  some- 


The  Lion  95 


times  has  a  definite  object  in  view,  but  more  frequently 
goes  forth  to  take  advantage  of  anything  that  may  turn  up. 
If  the  former  is  the  case,  his  course  is  directed,  as  that  of 
a  man  would  be  in  like  circumstances,  by  a  previous  ac- 
quaintance with  the  haunts  and  habits  of  the  game  he  is 
after.  He  does  not  ambush  a  disused  path  to  a  dried-up 
spring,  or  look  for  a  quagga  in  a  buffalo  wallow,  or  attempt 
to  stalk  black  antelopes  in  the  same  way  that  he  would 
approach  cattle  belonging  to  some  Hottentot  kraal. 

In  Africa,  which  is  his  true  home,  a  lion  "is  never 
known  to  chase  prey."  Having  sighted  it,  ascertained  its 
species,  surveyed  the  ground,  found  out  the  direction  of 
the  wind,  —  preliminaries  essential  to  any  subsequent  at- 
tempts to  get  near,  —  he  begins  to  practise  a  set  of  manoeu- 
vres adapted  to  present  conditions,  and  these  he  has 
learned  in  the  literal  meaning  of  that  term.  Faculty  is 
transmitted.  Knowledge  is  always  acquired. 

Having  closed  successfully  and  seized  his  prey,  it  is 
destroyed  in  a  variety  of  ways.  As  a  matter  of  fact 
immediate  death  does  not  invariably  come  to  the  relief 
of  its  sufferings,  even  in  the  case  of  those  smaller  creat- 
ures on  which  the  lion  preys.  He  does  not  wait,  as 
Buffon  supposed,  until  insensibility  ensues  before  tear- 
ing them  to  pieces.  Nor  is  it  true,  as  Dr.  Livingstone 
imagined,  that  Providence  assuages  the  agonies  of  all 
animals  thus  caught,  by  bestowing  upon  the  Felida  a 
propensity  to  shake  their  victims,  and  so  produce  a 
state  of  insensibility.  How  can  a  lion  shake  an  ox  or 
an  eland,  a  horse,  giraffe,  buffalo,  or  young  rhinoceros  ? 
Andersson  tells  us  that  he  mistook  the  groans  of  a  zebra 


96  Wild  Beasts 


carried  past  his  camp  by  night  for  those  of  a  human  being, 
and  went  to  the  rescue.  More  than  this,  if  the  brute  itself 
has  any  feeling  about  this  matter, — and  there  is  every  reason 
to  believe  that  it  has, — all  manifestations  of  pain  heighten 
the  pleasurable  excitement  it  experiences  in  putting  an 
animal  to  death.  Cruelty  is  organized  in  its  brain,  and  to 
a  beast  of  prey,  pity  is  about  as  possible  as  poetic  inspira- 
tion. Love  of  bloodshed,  exultation  in  carnage,  immiti- 
gable ferocity,  are  ingrained  in  them  all ;  and  so  far  as  a 
lion  appreciates  expressions  of  mental  anguish  and  physical 
torture,  they  thrill  his  fierce  spirit  with  a  savage  joy. 

Gordon  Gumming  relates  a  story  which  shows  what  a 
human  being  may  experience  when  in  the  clutches  of  a 
lion.  His  party  had  encamped,  and  "the  Hottentots,"  as 
he  tells,  "  made  their  fire  about  fifty  yards  away,  they,  ac- 
cording to  their  custom,  being  satisfied  with  the  shelter  of 
a  large  bush.  The  evening  passed  away  cheerfully.  Soon 
after  dark  we  heard  elephants  breaking  trees  in  the  forest 
across  the  river,  and  once  or  twice  I  strode  away  into  the 
darkness,  some  distance  from  the  fireside,  to  stand  and 
listen  to  them.  I  little,  at  that  time,  dreamed  of  the  immi- 
nent peril  to  which  I  was  exposing  my  life,  nor  thought 
that  a  blood-thirsty,  man-eating  lion  was  crouching  near, 
and  watching  his  opportunity  to  spring  into  the  kraal  and 
consign  one  of  us  to  a  horrible  death.  About  three  hours 
after  the  sun  went  down  I  called  to  my  men  to  come  and 
take  their  coffee  and  supper,  which  was  ready  for  them  at 
my  fire.  After  supper  three  of  them  returned  before  their 
comrades  to  their  own  fireside,  and  lay  down ;  these  were 
John  Stofolus,  Hendric,  and  Ruyter.  In  a  few  moments 


The  Lion  97 


an  ox  came  out  by  the  gate  of  the  kraal  and  walked  round 
the  back  of  it.  Hendric  and  Ruyter  lay  on  one  side  of  the 
fire,  under  a  blanket,  and  Stofolus  lay  on  the  other.  At 
this  moment  I  was  sitting,  taking  some  barley  broth  ;  our 
fire  was  very  small,  and  the  night  was  pitch  dark  and 
windy. 

"  Suddenly  the  appalling  and  murderous  voice  of  an 
angry  and  blood-thirsty  lion  burst  upon  my  ear  within  a 
few  yards  of  us,  followed  by  the  shrieking  of  the  Hotten- 
tots. Again  and  again  the  murderous  roar  of  attack  was 
repeated.  We  heard  John  and  Ruyter  scream,  '  The  lion  ! 
the  lion ! '  Still,  for  a  few  moments,  we  thought  he  was 
but  chasing  one  of  the  dogs  round  the  kraal.  But  the  next 
instant  Stofolus  rushed  into  the  midst  of  us  almost  speech- 
less with  fear  and  horror,  his  eyes  bursting  from  their 
sockets,  and  shrieked  out,  '  The  lion !  the  lion  !  he  has 
got  Hendric;  he  dragged  him  away  from  the  fire  beside 
me.  I  struck  him  with  burning  brands  upon  the  head, 
but  he  would  not  let  go  his  hold.  Hendric  is  dead  !  O 
God  !  Hendric  is  dead  !  Let  us  take  fire  and  seek  him  ! ' 
The  rest  of  my  people  rushed  about,  yelling  as  if  they  were 
mad.  I  was  angry  with  them  for  their  folly,  and  told  them 
if  they  did  not  stand  still  and  be  quiet,  the  lions  would 
have  another  of  us,  for  very  likely  there  was  a  troop  of 
them.  Then  I  ordered  the  dogs,  which  were  nearly  all 
tied,  to  be  loosed,  and  the  fire  increased  as  far  as  it  could 
be.  I  shouted  Hendric's  name,  but  all  was  still.  I 
told  my  men  that  Hendric  was  dead,  and  that  a  regiment 
of  soldiers  could  not  help  him  then.  Hunting  my  dogs 
forward,  I  had  everything  brought  within  the  kraal,  when 


98  Wild  Beasts 


we  lighted  our  fire,  and  closed  the  entrance  as  well  as  we 
could. 

"  My  terrified  people  sat  around  the  fire  with  guns  in 
their  hands,  fancying  at  every  moment  that  the  lion  would 
return  and  spring  into  the  midst  of  us.  When  the  dogs 
were  first  let  go,  the  stupid  brutes,  as  dogs  often  prove  to 
be  when  most  needecj,  instead  of  going  at  the  lion,  rushed 
fiercely  at  one  another  and  fought  desperately  for  some 
minutes.  After  this  they  got  his  wind,  and  going  at  him, 
disclosed  his  position.  They  kept  up  a  continual  barking 
until  day  dawned,  the  lion  occasionally  springing  at  them 
and  driving  them  in  upon  the  kraal.  This  horrible  monster 
lay  all  night  within  forty  yards  of  us,  consuming  the 
wretched  man  he  had  chosen  for  his  prey.  He  had 
dragged  him  into  a  little  hollow  at  the  back  of  the  thick 
bush  beside  which  the  fire  was  kindled,  and  there  he  re- 
mained until  day  broke,  careless  of  our  proximity. 

"It  appeared  that  when  the  unfortunate  Hendric  rose 
to  drive  in  the  ox,  the  lion  watched  him  to  his  fireside, 
and  he  had  scarcely  lain  down  before  the  brute  sprang 
upon  him  and  Ruyter  (for  both  were  under  one  blanket) 
with  his  appalling  roar;  and,  roaring  as  he  lay,  grappled 
him  with  his  fearful  claws,  and  kept  biting  the  poor  man's 
chest  and  shoulder,  all  the  while  feeling  for  his  neck,  hav- 
ing got  hold  of  which,  he  dragged  him  away  backward 
round  the  brush  into  the  dense  shade. 

"As  the  lion  lay  upon  him  he  faintly  cried,  '  Help  me! 
Help  me  !  Oh  God  !  men,  help  me  !  "' 

Here  was  no  instinctive  fear  of  man,  no  sign  of  the 
timidity  so  much  talked  about,  no  falling  off  of  the  victim 


The  Lion  99 


into  the  dreamy  languor  Dr.  Livingstone  expatiates 
upon.  His  pain  was  sooner  over  than  that  of  some  we 
know  of;  death  came  when  the  neck  was  crushed,  but 
what  had  he  suffered  previously  ? 

There  is  an  alleged  trait  of  character  which  should  be 
alluded  to  on  account  of  the  propensity  displayed  even  by 
those  who  really  know  this  animal  to  make  a  composite 
being  of  him  —  part  lion  and  part  gentleman. 

Gerard  is  one  of  them.  He  was  to  some  extent,  no 
doubt,  deceived  by  common  report,  and  likewise  misled  by 
his  knowledge  of  those  domestic  virtues  that  really  belong 
to  the  animal.  At  all  events  he  constructed  a  lion  that 
bears  a  curious  resemblance  to  a  raffine  of  the  famous  old 
duelling  days  in  France  without  the  seigneur  s  levity  or  his 
lewdness.  When  his  family,  whom  he  has  up  to  this  time 
fed  himself,  are  able  to  join  in  the  chase,  the  lion  finds  the 
game,  strikes  it  down,  and  then,  with  that  refined  self- 
abnegation  which  comports  so  well  with  his  natural  charac- 
ter, he  retires  to  a  little  distance  from  the  quarry  in  order 
that  Madame  may  be  first  served.  This  and  much  more  to 
the  same  effect. 

It  happens,  however,  that  one  man,  and  only  one  to  the 
writer's  knowledge,  the  Hon.  W.  H.  Drummond,  chanced 
to  see  what  Gerard  has  depicted  in  colors  furnished  by  his 
own  fancy.  His  narrative  of  the  incident  from  first  to 
last  is  much  more  in  accordance  with  the  style  of  manners 
taught  in  the  struggle  for  existence  than  the  former  one. 
One  day  while  watching  the  motions  of  some  antelopes 
from  the  summit  of  a  grassy  and  rock-strewn  ridge,  Drum- 
mond suddenly  became  aware  that  he  was  not  the  only 


ioo  Wild  Beasts 


hunter  interested  in  the  game  of  that  vicinity.  A  lioness 
with  her  whelps  crouched  among  the  herbage  at  a  little 
distance,  and  so  intent  were  they  upon  the  movements  of 
their  expected  prey,  that  he  was  entirely  unnoticed.  While 
awaiting  events  a  band  of  quaggas  passed  close  to  some 
bushes  at  the  foot  of  the  slope,  and  then  a  lion's  form  was 
launched  upon  the  leading  stallion,  and  he  fell  dead  from  a 
blow  with  the  beast's  forearm. 

Without  any  delay  the  lion  proceeded  to  help  himself, 
his  family  drawing  near,  but  waiting  until  his  appetite  had 
been  stayed.  "  The  sultan  of  the  desert "  has  a  short 
temper  when  he  is  feeding,  and  on  many  occasions  has 
been  known  to  eat  his  wife,  either  in  the  way  of  reproof 
to  her  importunity  at  such  times,  or  because  he  did  not 
have  food  enough.  It  would  seem  that  this  lioness  sus- 
pected something  of  the  kind  might  occur,  for  she  kept 
herself  and  the  young  ones  in  the  background  until  his  high- 
ness had  finished,  which  he,  not  being  particularly  hungry, 
did  very  soon.  When  he  had  walked  away  and  stretched 
himself  out,  the  rest  pressed  forward,  and  the  mother 
treated  her  offspring  with  scant  curtesy.  She  pounced 
upon  those  parts  she  preferred,  and  boxed  the  little  ones, 
who  were  struggling  for  a  bite,  out  of  the  way  whenever 
they  incommoded  her. 

Thus  far  in  the  catalogue  of  leonine  gifts  and  graces  we 
have  not  discovered  any  that  are  peculiarly  their  own ;  on 
the  contrary,  when  examined  closely,  those  with  which 
lions  are  accredited  turn  out  to  be  counterfeits.  Gordon 
Gumming  says  of  the  lion,  in  company  with  his  mate  and 
whelps,  that,  "at  this  time  he  knows  no  fear,"  and  in  de- 


The  Lion  101 


fence  of  his  family  "  he  will  face  a  thousand  men."  This 
is  a  rhetorical  flourish,  and  yet  now  when  it  has  become 
the  fashion  to  call  the  creature  a  poltroon,  the  statement 
as  it  stands  is  better  supported  by  proof  than  almost  any 
other  that  has  been  made  concerning  its  character.  If 
this  animal  is  not  brave,  nobody  is  in  a  position  to  call  it 
cowardly.  All  the  evidence  tends  the  other  way.  Taken 
as  it  is,  looked  upon  as  a  brute  to  whom  heroism,  senti- 
ment, and  high  resolve  must  be  as  impossible  as  righteous- 
ness, the  lion  preserves  the  demeanor  of  courage  better 
than  any  other  member  of  the  Felidce. 

Moffat,  Lichtenstein,  Freeman,  Rath,  Galton,  say  with 
W.  C.  Kerr  ("  The  Far  Interior ")  that  "  when  a  lion  is 
thoroughly  hungry  there  is  no  limit  to  his  audacity  and 
daring."  Every  being  must  have  some  incitement  to 
action,  and  those  motives  which  are  most  powerful  with 
lions  appear  to  be  anger  and  appetite. 

Postponing  for  the  moment  his  relations  with  mankind, 
let  us  see  what  kinds  of  game  the  lion  is  accustomed  to 
prey  upon.  No  coercion  can  be  exercised  in  this  direc- 
tion. Actual  starvation  might  take  away  liberty  of  choice, 
but,  as  a  rule,  it  must  be  admitted  that  a  selection  of  this 
kind  is  significant  of  the  opinion  which  an  animal  has  of 
its  own  powers,  as  it  also  is  of  its  boldness.  The  giraffe, 
which  lions  occasionally  kill,  is  entirely  defenceless  :  so 
with  elands  and  all  antelopes.  This  is  likewise  the  case 
with  those  domestic  animals  which  are  devoured.  It  has 
been  said  that  the  elephant  is  sometimes  attacked,  but 
this  is  one  of  those  stories  which  only  display  the  igno- 
rance of  those  who  propagate  them.  The  black  and  white 


IO2  Wild  Beasts 


rhinoceros  is  never  assailed,  although  Delgorgue  actually 
refers  to  the  latter,  a  beast  second  only  to  the  elephant 
in  size  and  most  formidably  armed,  as  if  it  were  commonly 
destroyed.  "  Maintes  fois  trouvai-je  des  rhinoceros  de  la 
plus  haute  faille,  que  ni  leur  poids,  ni  leur  force,  ni  leur 
fureur,  ri  avaient  preserver  de  la  mort"  If  anything  were 
needed  to  set  off  this  pleasant  statement,  it  could  be  found 
in  Delgorgue's  roundly  declared  opinion  that  lions  are  all 
"abject  cowards." 

But  in  Africa  the  lion  constantly  preys  upon  the  buffalo, 
and  without  going  so  far  as  Andersson  in  saying  that  he 
principally  lives  on  this  species,  the  fact  that  it  is  continu- 
ally killed  is  beyond  question.  Many  famous  hunters  sup- 
pose that  an  African  buffalo  is  the  most  dangerous  creature 
to  be  found  on  the  "Dark  Continent."  It  is  of  immense 
size  and  strength,  active,  brave,  and  fierce. 

No  account  is  known  to  the  writer  of  a  single  lion  that 
was  seen  to  slay  a  full-grown  buffalo,  and  several  authori- 
ties doubt  whether  this  be  possible.  The  latter  have,  how- 
ever, often  been  shot  while  bearing  the  scars  of  combats 
with  one  or  more  lions.  According  to  the  evidence  as  it 
exists,  the  case  stands  in  this  way.  One  lion  may  attack 
a  buffalo,  it  is  impossible  to  say  whether  he  will  or  not ; 
two  of  them  certainly  do  so,  and  the  battles  that  ensue 
are  of  the  most  desperate  description.  It  is  known,  also, 
that  these  conflicts  do  not  always  end  in  favor  of  the 
assailants. 

"The  lion  kills  only  for  food,"  says  Major  Leveson, 
meaning  that  in  mature  life  he  does  not  commit  useless 
murders,  or  show  the  same  love  of  blood  for  its  own  sake 


The  Lion  103 


as  some  other  members  of  his  family.  Without  doubt,  this 
animal  is  not  sanguinary  when  compared  with  a  panther  or 
puma,  but  it  is  quite  as  likely  that  he  is  restrained  from 
unnecessary  carnage  by  economic  views,  as  by  any  senti- 
ment of  generosity  or  mercy. 

A  lion  when  surprised  does  not  usually  dash  away  incon- 
tinently ;  if  his  retreat  is  not  interfered  with,  and  he  has 
learned  that  firearms  are  more  effective  than  his  own 
weapons  of  offence,  he  falls  back  slowly.  When  so  placed 
that  they  cannot  escape,  some  lions  die  like  curs,  but  the 
majority  of  accounts  represent  them  as  perishing  gallantly. 
Such  is  the  case  also  when  for  any  reason  the  creature  has 
resolved  to  fight.  Then  it  seems  to  make  no  difference  to 
him  how  many  foes  he  encounters.  Numerous  narratives 
very  similar  in  detail  have  been  written  by  different 
observers  of  such  scenes.  No  other  wild  beast  confronts 
a  body  of  armed  men  after  his  manner.  That  last  parade 
in  face  of  a  horde*  of  savages  beneath  whose  assagais  he  is 
about  to  die,  is  so  striking  that  false  inferences  from  the 
sight  can  scarcely  be  avoided.  It  is  not  the  "  deliberate 
valor"  of  Milton  we  see,  nor  even  heroic  despair;  it  is 
nothing  perhaps  with  which  humanity  in  its  nobler  emo- 
tions can  sympathize ;  but  it  looks  as  if  it  were,  and  men 
have  yielded  to  their  feelings  and  believed  that  it  was. 
"Life,"  says  Professor  Robinson,  "has  but  one  end  for  a 
lion  —  enjoyment.  He  is  incapable  of  forgetting  that  he 
is  only  a  huge  cat,  or  flying  in  the  face  of  nature  by  pre- 
tending to  be  anything  else.  ...  He  makes  no  claim  to 
invincible  courage ;  on  the  contrary,  he  prefers,  as  a  rule, 
to  enjoy  life  rather  than  to  die  heroically.  But  when  death 


IO4  Wild  Beasts 


is  inevitable,  he  is  always  heroic,  or  even  when  danger 
presses  him  too  closely  ...  a  lion  in  the  shadow  of  death 
remains  a  lion  still." 

All  things  being  equal,  lions  conduct  themselves  towards 
mankind  according  to  the  suggestions  of  the  time  being 
and  their  previous  experiences.  One  that  had  just  eaten 
an  antelope  might  pass  by  a  man ;  another  might  kill  him. 
The  former,  by  all  accounts,  is  the  more  likely  to  occur, 
and  it  is  said  that  Bushmen  and  other  natives  can  tell  by 
the  voice  whether  he  is  full  or  fasting ;  and  in  the  first  case 
have  no  fear  that  he  will  become  aggressive  without  provo- 
cation. When  forbearance  is  not  a  matter  of  repletion,  it 
is  no  doubt,  in  some  measure,  the  result  of  sloth.  A  lion 
never  does  anything  he  can  avoid  doing. 

Baker's  story  of  the  lion  that  met  a  Nubian  sheik  with 
two  companions,  and  tore  the  leader  to  pieces,  is  one  of  a 
great  number  of  instances  that  might  be  brought  forward 
to  show  that  wherever  these  animals  are1  not  conscious  of 
being  put  entirely  at  a  disadvantage  by  superiority  of  arms, 
they  display  little  of  that  fear  of  man  which  is  commonly 
attributed  to  them.  Poorly-armed  tribes  are  under  no 
such  delusion.  The  Ouled,  Meloul,  or  Ouled  Cassi  Arabs 
whose  donars  were  attacked  would  have  been  as  difficult  to 
persuade  of  the  lion's  timidity  towards  mankind,  as  those 
Makubas  on  the  Ghobe,  or  "the  miserable  Bakorus,"  whom 
he  devoured  at  his  good  pleasure.  Dr.  Schweinfurth 
("The  Heart  of  Africa")  was  at  an  Egyptian  garrison 
where  the  soldiers  were  carried  off  from  within  their  own 
lines  night  after  night.  Moffat,  Delgorgue,  Livingstone, 
Gumming,  all  record  incidents  of  what  they  call  his  "  des- 


The  Lion  105 


perate  attacks."  Still,  and  as  if  to  show  what  it  is  possible 
for  men  to  commit  themselves  to  when  writing  about  wild 
beasts,  we  have  Burchell's  opinion  ("  Travels  in  the  Inte- 
rior of  Southern  Africa"). 

This  author,  according  to  his  own  account,  spent  four 
years  in  a  lion  country,  and  saw  but  one  during  the  whole 
of  this  time.  That  one  was  accidentally  encountered  on  a 
journey,  and  they  succeeded  in  shooting  it  through  the 
body,  upon  which  it  drew  off  into  the  bushes  and  disap- 
peared. Yet  it  is  on  the  strength  of  an  experience  like 
this  that  Burchell  says  he  has  "no  very  high  opinion 
of  the  lion's  courage."  Of  course  the  reference  has  an 
appearance  of  being  overstated,  but  whoever  reads  the 
bulky  quartos  in  which  these  travels  are  written  will  find 
that  such  is  not  the  case. 

So  much  in  the  way  of  a  review  of  Buffon's  general 
description. 

It  is  easier,  however,  and  safer  to  decide  as  to  what 
lions  are  not,  than  to  say  what  they  are.  Almost  every- 
thing written  upon  this  subject  deals  nearly  to  exclusion 
with  the  animal's  habits,  and  leaves  its  character  un- 
touched. Even  in  this  respect  also  our  information  is 
not  complete. 

C.  J.  Andersson  ("The  Lion  and  the  Elephant") 
remarks  that  "the  modes  of  life"  belonging  to  "the 
Lord  of  the  African  Wilds  "  are  not  at  all  thoroughly 
known,  and  he  expresses  an  opinion  fully  justified  by 
facts  to  the  effect  that  he  has  himself  been  able  to  bring 
together  much  information  in  this  connection  that  "may 
not  have  been  noticed  by  other  travellers  and  sportsmen." 


io6  Wild  Beasts 


In  making  up  a  summary  of  what  has  gone  before,  the 
writer  is  much  indebted  to  this  valuable  work. 

We  have  no  psychological  scheme  for  lions,  and  must 
take  their  characteristics  as  they  happen  to  present  them- 
selves, without  any  pretence  at  arrangement,  based  either 
upon  their  natural  order  or  real  importance.  There  is  an 
account  given  in  MS.  to  Lloyd,  the  editor  of  Andersson's 
posthumous  papers,  that  shows  the  character  of  the  Indian 
lion  in  much  the  same  light  that  his  African  congener  has 
been  placed  by  Baker,  Drummond,  etc. 

"  This  beast  was  believed  to  have  his  lair  in  a  patch  of 
copse-wood  where,  from  the  jungle  having  been  some  years 
previously  cut  away  by  the  natives  for  stakes  and  the  like, 
the  young  trees  had  grown  up  again  so  close  and  tangled 
as  to  be  almost  impenetrable.  But  this  patch  was  of  no 
great  extent,  its  area,  perhaps,  not  exceeding  that  of  Gros- 
venor  Square.  The  other  parts  of  the  wood  surrounding 
the  tank  were  in  a  state  of  nature,  consisting  of  bushes 
and  timber  trees. 

"  On  reaching  the  ground,  the  natives  were  stationed 
in  the  trees  thereabouts  as  markers.  But  it  was  not  till 
the  party  had  beaten  the  patch  with  their  elephants  for 
a  considerable  time  that  the  lion  was  discovered  to  be  on 
foot,  and  some  further  time  elapsed  before  he  was  viewed 
as  he  was  stealing  away  from  the  brake,  along  a  sort  of 
hedge-row,  for  the  more  open  country  beyond.  Captain 
Delamaine,  who  was  some  forty  or  fifty  paces  from  the 
beast,  then  fired,  and  wounded  him  severely  in  the  body. 

"  On  receiving  the  ball,  the  lion  immediately  faced 
about,  and  charged  my  elephant,  but  the  nerves  of 


The  Lion  107 


the  latter  having  been  recently  shaken  by  wounds 
received  from  a  royal  tiger,  turned  tail,  and  regularly 
bolted.  In  the  scurry  through  the  jungle,  one  of  the 
guns,  having  been  caught  by  a  tree,  fell  from  the  howdah 
and  was  broken,  a  loss,  as  the  sequel  proved,  that  might 
have  been  attended  with  very  disastrous  consequences." 

But  the  lion  soon  gave  up  the  chase,  and  retraced  his 
steps  to  the  patch  whence  he  had  been  started.  Here 
he  was  followed  by  Captain  Harris  alone,  Delamaine's 
elephant,  from  its  late  fright,  having  become  too  unsteady 
to  be  taken  into  thick  cover. 

"  The  Captain  soon  found  and  fired  at  the  beast,  which 
in  its  turn  instantly  sprang  at,  and  made  a  fair  lodgment 
on  the  head  of  his  elephant,  but  the  latter  being  a  large 
and  powerful  animal,  and  accustomed  to  the  ckasse,  almost 
immediately  shook  off  its  fierce  assailant,  who  fell  with 
violence  on  the  ground."  This  desperate  mode  of  attack 
and  reprisal  was  on  both  sides  repeated  in  more  than  one 
instance,  and  this,  moreover,  within  view  of  his  companion, 
who,  though  prevented  —  for  the  reason  mentioned  — 
from  taking  part  in  the  conflict,  was,  from  the  outside 
of  the  brake,  intently  watching  the  proceedings  of  his 
friend.  After  a  time,  whether  because  he  left  the  patch, 
or  from  having  concealed  himself,  the  beast  was  no  longer 
to  be  found. 

"It  was  at  the  period  of  the  monsoon,  and  just  as  the 
hunters  were  at  fault,  there  came  on  a  heavy  shower  of 
rain,  when,  principally  for  the  sake  of  the  guns,  it  was 
deemed  best  to  retire  for  shelter  to  some  trees  in  the 
more  open  country  at  a  few  hundred  paces  distance. 


io8  Wild  Beasts 


"The  storm  soon  passed  over,  but  being  doubtful 
whether  their  guns  might  not  be  wet,  it  was  thought 
advisable  to  discharge  them.  This  was  no  sooner  done, 
however,  than  the  lion  began  to  roar  terribly,  and 
continued  doing  so  for  some  time,  in  the  direction 
of  the  late  scene  of  conflict,  from  which  it  was  pretty 
evident,  that,  though  they  had  been  unable  to  find  him 
in  the  patch,  he  had  been  harbored  there  the  whole 
time. 

"When  reloaded,  the  party  therefore  returned  to  the 
brake,  and  were  informed  by  one  of  the  markers  that 
on  the  report  of  the  guns,  the  lion  had  rushed  roaring 
from  it  into  the  more  open  country,  evidently  for  the 
purpose  of  venting  his  rage  on  the  first  object  that 
came  across  his  path.  On  proceeding  a  little  further 
they  were  hailed  by  another  marker,  who  told  them  that 
the  brute  was  crouched  in  a  cluster  of  brambles,  of  a  very 
limited  extent,  about  twenty  paces  from  the  very  tree  in 
which  he  himself  was  perched. 

"As  the  country  was  pretty  open  around  the  thicket 
in  question,  the  sportsmen  were  able  to  reconnoitre  it 
narrowly,  and  that  without  taking  the  elephants  into  the 
very  thick  of  it,  which  was  deemed  unadvisable,  as,  had 
those  animals  come  directly  upon  the  lion,  they  might 
have  been  scared  and  rendered  unmanageable.  But  the 
beast  was  not  perceptible. 

"  From  the  cover  being  so  limited  in  extent,  it  appeared 
to  be  almost  an  impossibility  that  the  lion  could  be  there, 
the  rather  that  the  elephants,  so  remarkable  for  their  fine 
sense  of  smell,  did  not  seem  at  all  aware  of  his  presence, 


The  Lion  109 


and  it  was  in  consequence  imagined  that  the  man  must 
be  mistaken.  But  as  he  persisted  in  his  story,  it  was 
determined  to  fire  a  shot  into  the  thicket,  which  was 
accordingly  done,  though  without  any  result. 

"When  a  lion,  that  has  been  wounded  and  hotly  pur- 
sued, has  'lain  up/  or  hidden  himself,  for  a  time,  his  posi- 
tion is  generally  known  by  his  roaring,  panting,  or  hard 
breathing  ;  but  in  this  instance  there  were  no  indications 
of  the  kind,  which,  coupled  with  the  shot  having  failed  of 
effect,  confirmed  their  previous  impression,  and  they  were, 
therefore,  on  the  point  of  moving  off  elsewhere. 

"But  as  the  marker  continued  asseverating  from  his 
tree  that  the  brute  was  positively  lying  in  the  very  brake 
near  which  they  were  standing,  it  was  resolved  to  try 
another  shot,  which  was  fired  by  Captain  Harris'  man, 
who  was  seated  at  the  back  of  his  master's  howdah. 

"  This  had  the  desired  effect,  for  the  gun  was  hardly 
discharged,  when  the  lion,  with  a  tremendous  roar,  sprang 
up  from  his  lurking-place,  and  in  a  second  was  once  more 
on  the  head  of  Captain  Harris'  elephant.  But  he  was 
almost  immediately  shaken  off,  when  he  retreated  to  the 
same  brake  from  which  he  had  issued,  and  where,  as 
before,  he  was  no  longer  discernible. 

"  A  shot  was  therefore  directed  towards  the  spot  where 
he  was  supposed  to  be,  and  he  again  charged  the  Captain's 
elephant,  and  on  being  dislodged  trotted  off  towards  the 
patch  that  harbored  him  in  the  first  instance. 

"During  the  metie  just* described,  Captain  Delamaine, 
from  an  apprehension  of  hitting  some  one,  had  been  de- 
terred from  firing ;  but  as  the  lion  was  retreating  he  dis- 


I IO  Wild  Beasts 


charged  both  barrels  of  his  double  gun,  and  broke  one  of 
the  hind  legs  of  the  beast. 

"  Upon  receiving  this  wound  the  lion  at  once  turned, 
and  rushing  at  the  elephant,  sprang  up  on  his  hind 
quarters  and  fixed  his  fangs  in  the  thick  part  of  the 
tail.  The  poor  animal  perfectly  screamed  from  the 
extreme  torture,  which  was  little  to  be  wondered  at,  as 
this  unfortunate  appendage  had  only  a  week  previously 
been  severely  lacerated  by  a  huge  tiger.  The  elephant 
now  swayed  to  and  fro  to  such  a  degree  that  his  rider 
had  some  difficulty  in  retaining  his  seat  in  the  howdah, 
and  was  much  less  able  to  take  an  accurate  aim  at  the 
lion,  which,  screened  as  it  was  by  the  protruding  rump  of 
the  elephant,  would  have  been  scarcely  practicable.  The 
Captain,  besides,  had  only  one  barrel  remaining,  and  it 
therefore  behooved  him  to  be  most  cautious  that  his  last 
charge  was  not  ineffectually  expended. 

"  This  trying  scene  continued  for  two  or  three  minutes, 
during  which  Delamaine  anxiously  looked  out  for  Captain 
Harris.  But  unluckily  his  elephant  had  been  rendered 
unmanageable  by  the  maltreatment  it  had  itself  received 
from  the  lion,  and  it  was  not,  therefore,  in  his  power  to 
render  aid  to  his  friend." 

The  appearance  of  the  lion  at  this  time,  maddened  as 
he  was  with  pain  and  rage,  is  described  as  most  awful. 

"  At  length  the  beast's  long-continued  attack  on  the 
elephant  caused  the  poor  animal  evidently  to  give  way 
and  to  sink  behind,  and  had  the  affair  continued  a  short 
time  longer,  there  is  no  doubt  it  would  have  been  on  its 
haunches,  and  the  rider  at  the  mercy  of  the  fierce  assailant. 


The  Lion  1 1 1 


"  Finding  matters  in  this  very  critical  state,  it  became 
necessary  for  him  to  risk  everything.  Leaning,  therefore, 
over  the  back  of  the  howdah,  and  clinging  to  it  with  one 
hand,  he  with  the  other  discharged  his  rifle,  a  very  heavy 
one,  at  the  head  of  the  lion  (the  piece  at  the  time  oscillat- 
ing, or  swinging,  in  a  manner  corresponding  with  the  roll 
of  the  elephant),  and  as  luck  would  have  it,  the  ball,  after 
crashing  through  the  beast's  jawbone,  subsequently  trav- 
ersed the  whole  length  of  its  body. 

"  This  caused  the  lion  to  let  go  his  hold,  and  for  a  few 
seconds  he  appeared  to  be  partially  paralyzed,  but  recover- 
ing himself,  he  slowly  retreated  towards  the  thicker  cover." 

Subsequently  he  was  again  attacked  by  the  party,  and 
in  two  or  three  instances  charged  them  as  gallantly  as 
ever ;  but  as  he  was  always*  received  with  a  heavy  fire,  an 
end  was  at  length  put  to  his  existence. 

There  is  no  need  to  add  much  to  what  has  been  said  of 
the  effect  produced  by  inherited  and  personal  experience. 
Nobody  denies  that  lions  are  possessed  of  intelligence,  and 
this  being  the  case,  they  learn  to  avoid  known  dangers, 
and  to  take  advantage  of  those  conditions  which  have  pre- 
viously proved  favorable.  If  this  and  what  it  implies  were 
not  true,  there  could  be  but  one  reason  for  it,  which  is  that 
the  race  was.congenitally  idiotic.  Therefore  to  dispute 
about  the  lion's  courage  as  if  there  might  be  archetypal 
beasts  differently  endowed  from  those  representatives  of 
their  species  which  naturally,  and  of  necessity,  vary  in 
boldness  with  changing  environments,  appears  to  be  a 
waste  of  time.  Furthermore,  the  possession  of  power  of 
any  kind  to  a  great  degree  determines  its  exercise,  and  it  is 


H2  Wild  Beasts 


impossible  to  suppose  that  an  animal  which,  above  all 
others,  except  the  tiger,  is  specialized  for  violence,  will  not 
be  blood-thirsty  and  aggressive. 

Sir  Samuel  Baker  appears  to  be  the  only  writer,  really 
an  authority,  who  knows  nothing  authentic  and  has  no  per- 
sonal cognizance  of  the  forays  of  lions  upon  villages  and 
camps.  Delgorgue,  Harris,  Gumming,  Andersson,  and 
everybody  else  whose  opportunities  for  observation  have 
been  at  all  extensive,  recognize  such  incidents  as  perfectly 
well  established.  Indeed,  taking  the  character  of  this 
beast  and  its  situation  into  consideration,  the  only  thing 
surprising  about  the  matter  would  be  that  it  had  not  done 
those  things  upon  whose  reality  Baker  seems  to  cast  a 
doubt.  Drummond  relates  a  story  in  this  connection,  in 
the  scenes  of  which  he  was  himself  an  actor,  and  as  many 
of  those  traits  which  have  been  discussed  are  well  brought 
out  in  his  narrative,  it  is  given  in  full. 

"  In  two  cases  I  have  been  an  accessory  to  the  death  of 
well-known  man-eaters,  one  of  which  had  almost  depopu- 
lated a  district.  .  .  .  The  locality  in  which  this  one  com- 
mitted his  depredations  was  in  the  northeast  corner  of 
Zululand,  where  a  number  of  refugee  Amaswazi  had  been 
located,  and  when  I  arrived  they  had  continued  for  nearly 
a  year,  so  that  many  villages  were  deserted,  and  all  had 
more  or  less  suffered  ;  for  the  brute  did  not  confine  him- 
self to  any  one  in  particular,  nor  come  at  any  regular  in- 
tervals, but  so  timed  his  visits  that  no  one  was  sure  of  his 
or  her  life  from  day  to  day.  No  fastenings  were  of  any 
use  against  him,  as  his  immense  strength  enabled  him  to 
force  an  entrance  if  he  could  not  find  one  ready  made, 


The  Lion  113 


while  the  outer  ring-fence,  of  interwoven  thorns,  supported 
by  strong  posts,  which  guards  all  native  villages,  and  is 
often  of  great  height,  offered  no  obstacle  to  his  powers  of 
jumping,  a  single  bound  being  always  sufficient  to  land  him 
inside. 

"  He  usually  confined  himself  to  killing  a  single  indi- 
vidual, and  would  claw  one  out  from  under  the  blanket  or 
skin  under  which,  with  covered  heads,  they  cowered  in 
terror  on  his  arrival ;  but  on  the  two  or  three  occasions  in 
which  he  had  met  with  opposition,  and  when  he  had  been 
wounded  with  assagais,  he  had  killed  every  soul  in  the  hut, 
and  so  dreadfully  mangled  them  that  their  bodies  almost 
defied  recognition. 

"  I  was  staying  at  the  villages  for  some  weeks,  first  at 
one  and  then  at  another,  as  they  suited  the  position  of  the 
game,  or  where  I  happened  to  find  myself  at  night ;  but 
though  I  heard  of  the  lion  having  attacked  one  either  just 
before  or  just  after  I  had  been  there,  I  never  happened  to 
meet  it,  and  the  ignorant  natives  became  anxious  for  my 
presence,  saying  that  their  enemy  feared  to  go  where  I 
was. 

"  This,  however,  was  not  destined  to  last.  One  sultry 
evening  I  arrived  at  the  outermost  village,  having  been 
forced  to  leave  the  spoor  of  a  herd  of  elephants  for  want 
of  ammunition,  and  being  very  tired,  I  determined  to  sleep 
at  it,  sending  on  two  of  my  men  to  fetch  some  from  the 
place  which  I  made  my  headquarters.  Tired  as  I  was  with 
my  exertions  on  an  unusually  hot  day,  I  soon  fell  asleep  in 
the  hut  that  had  been  given  up  to  our  use  ;  but,  as  the  heat 
was  stifling,  I  was  not  at  all  surprised  at  being  awakened 


H4  Wild  Beasts 


towards  midnight  by  a  heavy  thunderstorm,  which  crashed 
round  us  for  half  an  hour  or  more.  At  last  the  hush  came 
that  always  accompanies  the  tremendous  rain  which  fol- 
lows, and  seems  to  quench  such  storms,  broken  only  by 
the  heavy  splashing  of  big  drops,  and  the  gurgle  of  the 
water  that  flooded  the  ground,  and  I  should  soon  have 
been  asleep  again  had  not  a  drop  come  splash  into  my  face 
through  the  ill-thatched  roof,  almost  immediately  followed 
by  a  small  stream,  of  which  it  had  been  the  advanced 
guard.  This  necessitated  my  looking  out  for  a  drier  spot, 
when  suddenly  out  of  the  quiet  of  the  descending  rain, 
came  such  a  confused  clamor  of  shrieks  and  cries,  of  yell- 
ing and  moaning,  that  until  I  heard  the  voice  of  the  lion, 
I  was  utterly  unable  to  account  for  it.  This  lasted  for  full 
half  a  minute,  and  then  such  a  blood-curdling  scream  of 
mingled  pain  and  despair  came  as  I  hope  I  may  never  hear 
again,  and  which  haunted  my  dreams  for  many  a  month 
after. 

"  My  men,  and  among  them  two  old  hunters,  each  of 
whom  had  killed  several  lions,  shrunk  crouching  back  to  the 
further  end  of  the  hut,  returning  no  answer  to  my  words 
when  I  told  them  to  come  out  with  me  and  face  the  beast, 
though,  as  I  opened  the  hut  entrance,  and  looked  out  on 
the  pitch  darkness,  it  was  evident  how  useless  any  such 
attempt  would  be.  The  death-yell  we  had  heard  was  fol- 
lowed by  silence  for  some  time,  during  which  the  brute 
was  probably  departing  with  its  victim,  and  the  natives 
were  still  afraid  of  its  return  ;  then  the  usual  noisy  lamen- 
tations for  the  dead  broke  forth,  and  were  continued  with- 
out intermission  until  daylight,  though  I  was  so  tired  that, 


The  Lion  115 


without  expecting  it,  I  fell  asleep  again,  and  did  not  wake 
any  more  that  night. 

"  There  was  little  to  tell  when  morning  did  break.  The 
lion  had  hit  upon  the  most  crowded  hut  of  all,  the  one  in 
which  the  people  who  had  given  place  to  us  were  sleeping 
in  addition  to  its  regular  owners,  and  had  picked  out  a 
young  married  woman,  taking  her  from  among  several, 
without  injuring  any  one  else  ;  as  they  said —  'a  man  does 
not  stab  more  than  one  of  his  herd  of  cattle  when  he  is 
hungry.' 

"  Previous  to  this,  on  my  first  arrival,  the  head  man  of 
the  district  had  come  and  asked  me  whether  I  would  assist 
him  to  destroy  this  brute,  as,  if  so,  he  would  turn  out  with 
all  his  people,  and  beat  up  the  country  until  it  was  found  ; 
and  in  point  of  fact  we  had  already  done  this,  on  the  occa- 
sion of  the  chief's  uncle  having  been  carried  off ;  but  the 
ground  was  so  dry  and  hard  then  that  our  best  spoorers 
failed  to  hit  off  the  track.  To-day,  however,  as  the  rain 
had  ceased  a  few  minutes  after  its  departure,  there  could 
be  no  doubt  about  finding  it,  and  as  soon  as  I  awoke  I  sent 
off  to  the  chief  to  ask  him  to  come  with  his  men,  saying 
that,  whether  he  had  arrived  or  not,  I  should  take  up  the 
trail  at  nine  o'clock. 

"  I  did  not  at  this  time  know  that  the  woman  who  was  the 
last  victim  was  his  relation,  but  when  my  messenger  came 
back  and  told  me  so,  adding  that  the  chief  was  fearfully 
angry,  it  did  not  surprise  me  to  hear  that  runners  had  been 
sent  out  already,  and  that  he  had  threatened  to  drive  out  of 
the  country  any  one  old  enough  to  carry  a  spear  who 
remained  behind,  and  that  if  I  could  wait  until  the  sun  had 


n  6  Wild  Beasts 


reached  a  certain  part  of  the  heavens  (till  about  ten  o'clock), 
he  would  join  me. 

"  I  had  already  had  breakfast  when  this  news  came,  and 
to  save  time  I  took  a  hunter  and  a  spoorer  (tracker)  with 
me  and  followed  the  lion.  About  two  hundred  yards  off 
we  found  the  spot  where  he  had  made  his  disgusting  meal, 
and  then  the  track  led  right  away  towards  a  stream,  nearly 
a  mile  distant,  where  he  had  quenched  his  thirst.  Keep- 
ing steadily  on,  he  passed  through  several  covers  quite 
strong  enough  to  have  held  him,  and  through  which  we 
had  to  pass  with  the  utmost  caution,  until,  at  length,  he 
came  out  on  to  the  open,  and  headed  in  a  direction  that 
we  knew  could  lead  nowhere  but  to  the  Umbeka  bush,  the 
thickest  jungle  for  miles  around.  As  this  was  still  nearly 
four  miles  off,  I  sent  one  man  back  to  tell  the  people 
where  to  come  to,  and  kept  on  with  the  hunter. 

"On  reaching  the  jungle,  which  covered  the  entire  side 
of  a  hill,  and  was  stony  and  broken  to  the  last  degree, 
besides  having  its  undergrowth  formed  of  impenetrable 
cactus,  we  did  not  of  course  attempt  to  enter,  but  separating, 
walked  round  it,  the  upper  and  more  rugged  portion  falling 
to  my  share,  and  carefully  examined  every  inch  of  the 
ground  to  see  whether  by  any  chance  he  had  again  left  it ; 
however,  no  vestige  of  his  spoor  could  be  seen,  and  by  the 
time  we  got  back  to  our  starting-point,  the  whole  of 
Tekwane's  people  were  in  sight. 

"The  chief  himself  was  with  them,  though  he  had  no 
intention  of  taking  any  active  part  in  the  proceedings,  and 
when  we  started  he  retired  with  some  of  his  old  men  to  a 
place  of  safety,  and  a  council  of  how  to  proceed  was  held 


The  Lion  1 1 7 


on  the  spot.  My  idea  was  that  the  guns  should  guard  the 
more  likely  passes,  while  the  people,  numbering  near  five 
hundred,  should  beat  out  the  jungle.  To  this,  however, 
the  objection  was  offered,  that  from  the  well-known  thick- 
ness of  the  place,  and  the  universal  terror  of  the  lion,  the 
men  would  not  attempt  to  beat  it  unless  they  were  led  by 
myself  and  my  hunters.  Such  being  the  case,  it  was 
decided  that  spies  should  be  placed  in  the  tree-tops  and 
other  commanding  positions,  while  the  great  body  of  the 
people  were  to  enter  at  the  top  and  drive  down ;  but 
knowing  as  I  did  how  very  dangerous  the  affair  would 
become  if  the  lion  was  wounded  in  such  cover,  in  many 
parts  of  which  one  could  not  see  a  yard  off,  I  specially 
ordered  my  men  not  to  fire  unless  they  felt  sure  of  killing 
or  disabling  the  brute  on  the  spot,  and  advised  that  every 
one,  advancing  in  as  unbroken  a  line  as  possible,  and  going 
slowly  and  making  all  the  noise  possible,  should  try  and 
make  it  slink  off  before  them,  and  enable  us  in  the  end  to 
get  a  fair  chance  at  it  in  the  open. 

"  Half  an  hour  was  spent  in  waiting  for  the  spies  to  take 
up  their  positions,  and  then  the  whole  body,  chanting  a 
hunting  song  so  loudly  that  it  could  have  been  heard  miles 
off,  and  must  undoubtedly  have  broken  the  slumbers  of  the 
lion,  marched  up  to  the  top,  and  spreading  out,  so  as  to 
take  in  all  but  the  outskirts,  where  it  was  improbable  that 
he  would  be,  they  entered  the  jungle  shouting  at  the  top 
of  their  voices,  partly,  no  doubt,  in  obedience  to  my 
wishes,  but  quite  as  much  to  keep  their  own  courage  up. 
In  this  fashion,  and  amid  cries  of  '  Get  up !  Get  out,  you 
dog!  Where's  the  dog?'  to  which  they  trusted  a  good 


n8  Wild  Beasts 


deal  as  likely  to  intimidate  th  >  lion,  we  passed  right 
through  to  the  other  side,  and  though  the  ground  had  been 
beaten  quite  as  well  as  it  was  possible  *or  anything  smaller 
than  elephants  to  do,  no  vestige  of  the  animal  had  been 
seen. 

"Hardly,  however,  had  the  men  begun  to  cluster  out 
upon  the  open,  before  there  was  a  shouting  from  the 
extreme  left,  which,  when  passed  on  through  the  strag- 
glers, soon  resolved  itself  into  the  lion  having  been  seen 
there.  Of  course  there  was  a  general  rush  in  that  direc- 
tion, which  I  accompanied,  until  I  met  a  man  who  had 
come  from  the  spot,  and  who  said  the  brute  had  just 
showed  itself  and  turned  back.  On  hearing  this  I  stopped 
those  nearest  to  me  and  sent  them  to  collect  every  one 
they  could  find,  and  in  a  few  minutes  two-thirds  of  the 
people  had  come  around  me.  I  then  divided  them  into 
two  bodies ;  the  larger,  led  by  all  my  hunters,  except  one, 
who  remained  with  me,  I  sent  to  enter  the  jungle  on  the 
outer  side  and  to  beat  through  it,  shouting  and  firing  their 
guns ;  the  other  I  took  myself  down  to  a  stream  which,  at 
four  or  five  hundred  yards  distance,  fronted  the  spot  where 
the  lion  had  shown  himself,  and  made  them  lie  down  in 
the  bushes  that  lined  it.  About  fifty  men  I  stationed 
round  the  jungle,  telling  them  never  to  cease  making  a 
noise,  and  I  also  removed  the  spies  from  in  front  of  us. 

"  It  took  a  long  time  to  do  this,  and  longer  for  the  men 
to  begin  to  beat,  and  we  waited  for  an  hour  by  the  stream 
bank  before  anything  happened.  I  had  left  my  place  and 
gone  to  drink,  and  as  I  turned  to  come  back,  a  stir  and 
rustle  among  the  bushes  where  the  men  lay  concealed 


The  Lion  1 1 9 


made  me  think  something  must  be  in  sight,  and  as  soon 
as  I  got  back,  the  man  next  me  said,  '  There  he  is  ! '  and 
I  caught  sight  of  the  lion  standing  under  the  shade  of  a 
solitary  tree  outside  of  the  jungle,  with  his  head  turned  in 
the  direction  of  the  beaters,  evidently  uncertain  whether 
to  await  them  where  he  was,  or  to  take  to  flight.  At  last, 
doubtless  considering  that  this  was  a  different  phase  of  the 
human  character  from  the  one  he  was  accustomed  to  meet 
with  during  his  midnight  maraudings,  he  turned  tail,  and 
coming  towards  us  in  long  easy  bounds,  was  soon  within 
a  hundred  yards  of  those  concealed  furthest  down.  Most 
fortunately  I  had  told  them  all  not  to  show  themselves  on 
any  account  before  I  did  so  myself,  and  so  the  brute,  un- 
suspicious of  danger,  made  for  a  ford  near  to  which  the 
hunter  who  had  come  down  with  me  had  stationed  himself. 
At  sixty  yards  he  fired  and  rolled  the  animal  over  like  a 
rabbit,  it  performing  a  complete  somersault  before  it 
regained  its  legs ;  up  the  whole  line  jumped  with  a  yell, 
and  the  lion,  which  I  had  first  fancied  was  killed,  con- 
tinued his  course  the  same  as  before,  only,  perhaps,  rather 
stupefied  by  the  shot,  he  abandoned  the  ford,  and  ran 
parallel  to  the  stream,  taking  no  notice  of  the  people,  many 
of  whom  shrank  back  as  they  saw  him  approaching  their 
part  of  the  line.  I  began  to  cover  him  when  he  was  still 
two  hundred  yards  off,  and  I  think  I  kept  the  gun  up  too 
long,  for  when  I  fired  at  half  that  distance  I  missed  clean. 
I  made  a  better  shot  with  my  other  barrel,  rather  too  far 
forward,  but  just  catching  the  point  of  the  shoulder,  and 
of  course  putting  the  limb  hors  de  combat.  The  brute 
appeared  to  be  as  cowardly  by  daylight  as  he  was  daring  in 


I2O  Wild  Beasts 


the  dark,  for  instead  of  charging  he  bolted  under  a  small 
tree  and  lay  down  growling,  and  in  ten  minutes  all  who 
were  coming — and  three-fourths  of  the  men  did  so  — 
had  made  their  appearance,  and  were  formed  in  a  compact 
body  behind  me.  He  had  not  waited  all  this  time  very 
patiently ;  but  when  I  fancied  that  I  saw  symptoms  of  his 
having  a  desire  to  slink  away  out  of  reach  of  the  fast- 
arriving  relatives  of  his  victims,  I  had  all  the  dogs  set  at 
him,  and  though  only  a  few  would  go,  and  they  could  not 
have  hampered  his  escape,  yet  they  distracted  his  attention 
for  a  time. 

"  Our  plan  was  a  very  simple  one.  The  five  hunters  and 
myself  were  to  walk  up  as  close  as  we  dared,  and  fire  in 
volleys  of  three,  and  if  we  did  not  kill,  and  he  charged,  we 
were  to  bolt  behind  the  natives  for  shelter.  We  walked 
up  within  thirty  yards,  and  I  and  two  hunters  stood  up 
while  three  knelt  in  front  of  us  and  fired,  the  lion  growl- 
ing furiously  the  while,  but  not  attempting  to  move.  The 
moment,  however,  the  balls  struck  him  —  and  with  a  lion 
crouched  flat  as  he  was,  it  was  not  to  be  expected  that 
they  could  kill  him  unless  one  hit  the  centre  of  his  fore- 
head —  he  came  straight  at  us,  roaring  horribly.  My  two 
companions, hardly  going  through  the  form  of  taking  aim, 
pulled  their  triggers  and  joined  those  who  had  already 
fired.  Fortunately  the  lion  could  not  spring  with  a  broken 
shoulder,  and  though  he  looked  most  unutterably  savage, 
he  did  not  get  over  the  ground  very  fast,  so  I  took  a  steady 
shot  at  the  centre  of  his  big  chest,  fully  expecting  to  see 
him  tumble  over,  but  could  not  even  see  that  it  had 
struck  him  ;  and  as  he  was  getting  very  near  I  did  not 


The  Lion  121 


take  a  much  better  aim  with  the  second  barrel  than  the 
last  two  hunters  had,  and,  like  them,  missed,  turning  as  I 
did  so,  and  running  away  for  bare  life.  I  was  surprised  to 
see  how  the  men  behind  had  diminished  in  numbers,  but 
still  there  remained  upwards  of  a  hundred,  who  so  far 
showed  no  sign  of  flinching,  and  I  bolted  in  behind  them 
and  began  to  reload,  altering  my  position  when  once  the 
powder  was  down,  so  that  I  could  see  what  was  going  on. 

"  The  lion  had  charged  up  to  within  ten  yards  of  them, 
and  then,  no  doubt,  awed,  by  their  steadiness,  he  had 
pulled  up,  and  was  now  walking  slowly  up  and  down  like  an 
officer  in  command,  growling  and  showing  his  teeth,  and 
looking  a  very  noble  animal  with  his  heavy  yellow  mane 
floating  around  him.  Very  likely  he  would  have  remained 
like  this  until  we  had  reloaded  had  not  a  young  fellow  in 
the  first  rank  flung  his  assagai,  with  an  insulting  expres- 
sion, at  him ;  but  as  the  spear-head  entered  he  made  two 
bounds  forward,  singling  out  the  unfortunate  man,  who, 
however,  met  him  pluckily,  presenting  him  with  his  great 
six-foot  shield  to  tear  at,  while  he  stuck  him  in  the  chest 
with  his  long  and  keen  double-edged  stabbing  spear.  As 
he  did  so  there  was  a  sudden  jerk,  as  of  a  steel  trap  clos- 
ing along  the  line,  through  which  I  was  in  time  to  catch 
sight  of  two  more  assagais  being  simultaneously  plunged 
into  the  beast.  All  those  who  had  run  away  hurried  up, 
and  a  dense  mass  was  formed,  pushing  and  struggling  to 
get  into  the  centre,  making  the  scene  somewhat  resemble 
a  native  foot-ball  match  I  had  once  seen  in  the  colonies. 
Such  a  contest  could  not  possibly  be  continued  long. 
Dozens  of  spears  had  been  buried  in  the  brute's  body  the 


122  Wild  Beasts 


instant  it  had  reached  the  man,  while,  although  I  could  tell 
by  the  shouting  that  they  were  still  stabbing  it,  it  was 
probably  only  a  dead  body  on  which  they  were  wreaking 
their  vengeance.  Be  that  as  it  might,  it  was  nearly 
half  an  hour  before  I  could  find  an  opening  that  led  to  the 
lion's  carcass,  and  I  do  not  think  there  was  one  solitary 
individual  among  all  who  were  out  that  day  who  had  not 
gratified  himself  by  driving  his  spear  into  it ;  at  any  rate, 
its  skin  was  a  perfect  sieve,  and  had  at  least  five  or  six 
hundred  holes  in  it.  The  price  at  which  the  victory  was 
gained  was  comparatively  small,  only  one  man  having  re- 
ceived a  fatal  wound  ;  while  the  one  upon  whom  the  lion  had 
sprung  escaped  with  some  severe  gashes  and  a  broken  arm." 
Those  italics  inserted  in  this  narrative  were  not  placed 
there  by  Drummond,  but  by  the  writer.  They  are  in- 
tended to  mark  a  propensity  which  he  shared  with  many 
others  to  accuse  the  lion  of  cowardice  while  in  the  act  of 
relating  his  deeds  of  desperation.  This  one  it  appears  was 
"cowardly"  because,  with  a  shattered  shoulder  and  other 
severe  wounds,  he  did  not  at  once  attack  a  hundred  armed 
men  drawn  up  to  receive  him.  Again  and  again  had  he 
penetrated  into  the  midst  of  a  populous  village,  and  torn 
people  out  of  their  houses.  All  the  same,  he  paused  dur- 
ing the  fight  described,  and  was  a  poltroon.  It  is  true 
that  after  walking  up  and  down  before  his  enemies  like 
a  lion  of  the  Atlas  as  described  by  Gerard,  he  finally 
charged  home  and  fought  until  cut  to  pieces.  Still  he  was 
"cowardly."  This  is  perplexing;  there  must  be  some 
standard  by  which  courage  is  judged  of  in  the  case  of  lions 
that  ordinary  people  know  nothing  about. 


The  Lion  123 


It  is  disappointing  to  find  a  man  whom  Lloyd  calls  "  the 
well-informed  Andersson,"  saying  that  "  the  length  of  a 
South  African  adult  lion,  from  the  nose  to  the  extremity 
of  the  tail,  is  from  eleven  to  twelve  feet,  .  .  .  and  his 
weight  not  less  than  from  five  to  six  hundred  pounds." 
He  knew  all  about  the  stretching  of  pegged-out  skins,  he 
had  never  seen  a  lion  eleven  feet  long  in  his  life,  and  yet 
he  adds  two  feet,  or  at  least  eighteen  inches,  to  the  ani- 
mal's average  length,  and  a  hundred  pounds  to  its  weight. 
Nine  feet  and  a  half  is  the  average  length  of  a  well-known 
Indian  tiger,  which  is  certainly  a  larger  animal  than  the 
lion,  and  both  may  occasionally  reach  a  length  of  ten 
feet,  but  very  rarely.  Sometimes,  also,  lions  weigh  as 
much  as  five  hundred  pounds,  although  few  persons 
have  met  with  specimens  so  heavy ;  but  beyond  these 
measurements  and  weights,  nothing  is  on  record  that 
deserves  serious  consideration.  There  is  a  perfect  fog 
of  contradictions  about  the  animal's  strength,  leaping 
power,  and  his  manner  of  carrying  off  prey ;  so  that  as 
far  as  testimony  in  these  matters  goes,  no  one  can  arrive 
at  any  conclusion.  A  lion  stands  about  thirty-six  inches 
high  at  the  shoulder,  and,  of  course,  exceptional  individ- 
uals may  be  taller.  He  can  no  more  go  straight  with  his 
head  twisted  over  his  shoulder  than  a  man  could ;  there- 
fore, taking  into  consideration  the  length  of  his  neck, 
those  stories  told  about  the  manner  in  which  lions  bear  off 
large  animals  in  their  mouths,  and  gallop  away  with  oxen 
flung  across  their  backs,  have  the  disadvantage  of  being 
impossible.  Thunberg  asserts  that  one  of  these  beasts 
will  "  attack  an  ox  of  the  largest  size,  and  very  nimbly 


124  Wild  Beasts 


throw  it  over  his  shoulders,  and  leap  a  fence  four  feet 
high."  Leveson  says  he  leaps  the  stockade  of  a  kraal 
whose  palisades  are  six  feet  above  the  ground,  with  a 
steer  in  his  jaws ;  and  Sparman  declares  that  he  saw 
a  lion  carry  off  a  heifer  in  his  mouth,  "  as  a  cat  would  a 
rat."  Drummond's  lions  sprang  over  thorn  fences  of  an 
indefinite  height,  carrying  their  human  victims ;  Gerard's 
made  no  difficulty  about  clearing  the  enclosures  of  Arab 
douars,  while  weighted  with  cattle.  Montgomery  Martin 
knew  them  to  bear  away  horses  and  cows  under  like  cir- 
cumstances, and  quite  as  many  and  as  good  authorities 
protest  that  all  this  is  nonsense,  and  that  they  never  did, 
and  could  not  do,  anything  of  the  kind. 

How  much  intellect  this  species  possesses,  and  to  what 
extent  it  can  be  cultivated,  remains  almost  unknown. 
Their  organization  makes  them  subtle,  fierce,  and  some- 
times passionate  beyond  the  limits  of  self-control,  but  they 
are,  no  doubt,  capable  of  affection,  and  certainly  exhibit 
marked  preferences  and  dislikes.  Apart  from  the  instruc- 
tion lions  receive  from  their  parents,  —  chiefly  the  mother, 
—  and  independently  of  anything  which  association  may  do 
for  them,  all  are  to  a  great  degree  self-taught ;  each  one 
according  to  its  capacity,  to  the  extent  of  its  opportuni- 
ties, and  correspondently  with  the  character  of  its  own 
mind.  They  design  and  carry  out  their  conceptions,  they 
imagine,  and  act  the  scenes  suggested  by  fancy,  they 
remember  and  combine  their  experiences. 

Lions  are  not  hunted  with  elephants  in  Africa.  Dutch 
settlers  in  the  southern  part  of  this  continent  use  horses, 
but  only  ride  up  within  shooting  distance,  dismount,  wheel 


The  Lion  125 


their  animals  round  so  that  they  may  receive  the  charge, 
if  one  is  made,  and  then  fire  volleys  with  their  roers  — 
guns  nearly  as  large  as  Asiatic  and  Mediaeval  wall-pieces. 
A  number  of  other  European  sportsmen  have  also  shot 
from  the  saddle ;  the  advantage  of  this  plan  being  that,  in 
case  the  lion  is  only  wounded,  their  horses  will  enable 
them  to  escape.  Care  is,  however,  necessary  not  to  get 
too  close ;  otherwise,  so  great  is  this  beast's  speed  for  a 
short  distance,  that  a  mounted  man  is  almost  certain  to  be 
overtaken. 

The  lion  is  a  nocturnal  animal,  although  in  the  more 
wild  and  desolate  regions  he  may  often  be  seen  by  day, 
especially  in  dark  and  stormy  weather,  and  then  either 
singly  or  in  troops.  Families  of  lions  live  together  until 
the  cubs  are  mature  enough  to  shift  for  themselves  ;  but  a 
troop  is  a  temporary  co-operative  association  designed  to 
drive  game.  Andersson  states  that  he  has  seen  "  six  or 
seven  together,  all  of  whom,  so  far  as  he  could  judge,  were 
full-grown,  or  nearly  so."  Freeman  relates  that  he  once 
encountered  a  party  consisting  of  ten  lions.  On  another 
occasion  he  saw  "  five  lions  (two  males  and  three  females) 
in  a  party,  and  two  of  these  were  in  the  act  of  pulling  down 
a  splendid  giraffe,  the  other  three  watching,  close  at  hand, 
and  with  devouring  looks,  the  deadly  strife."  Delgorgue 
once  counted  thirty  lions  formed  in  a  hunting  line.  Many 
are  really  shot  on  foot  in  Africa,  many  more  indeed  than 
the  tigers  reported  to  have  been  killed  in  this  manner  in 
India. 

Skaarm-shooting  —  the  occupation  by  the  hunter  of  a  par- 
tially covered  trench  near  a  water-hole,  —  and  the  machan, 


126  Wild  Beasts 


or  tree-platform,  has  also  been  adopted.  Lions  may  often 
be  seen  walking  about  amid  herds  of  antelopes  on  the 
African  plains  "like  Caffre  chieftains,"  as  Delgorgue  ex- 
presses it,  "counting  their  flocks."  The  antelope  knows 
that  it  cannot  be  caught  so  long  as  it  keeps  beyond  the 
range  of  his  first  few  lightning-like  bounds,  and  thus  its 
equanimity  is  in  nowise  disturbed  by  this  destroyer's 
presence.  Nothing  but  a  stalk  or  an  ambush  will  bring 
one  of  these  fleet  animals  within  their  enemies'  reach. 

"  Generally,  however,"  says  Andersson,  "  during  the  day 
a  lion  lies  concealed  on  some  mountain  side,  or  beneath  the 
shade  of  umbrageous  trees  or  wide-spreading  bushes.  He 
is  also  partial  to  lofty  reeds  and  long,  rank  yellow  grass, 
such  as  occurs  in  low-lying  '  vleys.'  From  these  haunts  he 
sallies  forth  when  the  sun  goes  down  and  commences  his 
nightly  prowl,"  and  except  the  elephant  and  rhinoceros, 
there  is  no  land  animal  in  Africa  that  he  cannot,  and  does 
not,  kill.  When  lions  attack  the  cattle  of  native  rulers, 
their  herdsmen,  whose  lives  are  held  by  native  masters  in  no 
manner  of  account,  are  compelled  to  take  their  shields  and 
spears  and  go  after  the  marauder.  There  is  no  particular 
skill  displayed  save  in  tracking  the  beast  to  its  lair,  and 
the  desperate  close  fighting  which  follows  is  due  to  the  fact 
that  the  men  know  it  is  much  better  to  be  wounded  or 
even  killed,  than  trust  themselves  to  the  tender  mercies  of 
a  negro  chief  who  is  enraged  at  the  loss  of  his  property. 
Namaqua  Hottentots,  who  possess  firearms,  never  take 
any  risks.  They  go  out  in  large  parties,  get  into  a  safe 
place,  and  when  a  lion  is  provoked  to  charge,  he  is  met 
with  a  storm  of  balls.  A  filthy  little  clay-colored  Bushman 


The  Lion  127 


will  steal  upon  the  sleeping  beast  with  a  caution  and  skill 
equal  to  its  own.  He  has  no  weapon  but  a  toy  bow  and  tiny, 
often  headless,  arrow,  poisoned  with  the  entrails  of  the  N'ga 
or  Kalihari  caterpillar,  mixed  probably  with  some  form  of 
Euphorbia.  This  savage  wounds  the  sleeper  without 
being  himself  seen,  and  an  injury,  however  slight,  is  fatal. 
Delgorgue  describes  a  lion-hunt  by  Caffres  as  follows : 

"  One  of  them,  carrying  a  large  shield  of  concave  form, 
made  of  thick  buffalo  hide,  approaches  the  animal  boldly, 
and  hurls  at  him  an  assagai  or  javelin.  The  lion  bounds 
on  the  aggressor,  but  the  man  in  the  meanwhile  has  thrown 
himself  flat  on  the  ground,  covered  by  his  buckler.  While 
the  beast  is  trying  the  effect  of  his  claws  and  teeth  on  the 
convex  side  of  the  shield,  where  they  make  no  impression 
.  .  .  the  armed  men  surround  him  and  pierce  his  body 
with  numerous  assagais,  all  of  which  he  fancies  he  receives 
from  the  individual  beneath  the  shield.  Then  these  assail- 
ants retire,  and  the  lion  grows  faint  and  soon  falls  beside 
the  Caffre  with  the  buckler,  who  takes  care  not  to  move 
until  the  terrible  brute  has  ceased  to  exhibit  any  signs  of 
life." 

It  is  well  known  that,  as  a  whole,  the  native  populations 
of  Africa  display  more  enterprise  and  courage  in  the  pur- 
suit of  dangerous  wild  beasts,  than  do  those  of  Asia.  But 
extraordinary  and  well-nigh  incredible  as  are  some  of  the 
stories  about  the  temerity  of  certain  tribes  in  lion-hunting 
as  told  by  Freeman  and  Sir  A.  Alexander,  the  account 
given  by  Sir  Samuel  Baker  ("Nile  Tributaries  of  Abys- 
sinia") of  the  Aggageers,  or  Arab  sword-hunters  of  the 
Upper  Nile,  fully  equals  them.  It  is  true  that  he  did  not 


128  Wild  Beasts 


see  Taber  or  Abu  Do,  those  slayers  of  elephants,  cut  a 
lion  through  the  spine  with  their  Solingen  blades;  but 
there  is  no  doubt  that  these  men  encounter  the  animal  on 
horseback  and  armed  with  their  swords  alone. 

Brave  as  the  Hamran  Arabs  were,  and  skilful,  Baker, 
who  has  recorded  their  deeds,  was  not  behind  them  in  dar- 
ing ;  and  as  the  following  narrative  may  almost  be  said  to 
stand  by  itself  in  the  records  of  hunting  as  an  illustration 
of  what  can  be  done  by  a  sportsman  who  is  entirely  coura- 
geous and  cool,  it  is  given  in  the  words  in  which  he  has 
himself  related  his  feat. 

Some  lions  had  been  wandering  about  his  camp  for 
several  nights,  and  they  also  gave  him  a  good  deal  of 
annoyance  by  devouring  game  that  he  shot.  "  Under 
these  circumstances,"  Sir  Samuel  says,  "  I  resolved  to  cir- 
cumvent one  or  the  other  of  these  beasts.  On  the  following 
morning,  therefore,  I  took  Taber  Noor,  with  Hadji  Ali  and 
Hassan,  two  of  my  trusty  Tokrooris,  and  went  to  the  spot 
where  I  had  left  the  carcass  of  the  buffalo  I  had  killed  on  the 
preceding  day.  As  I  had  expected,  nothing  remained,  not 
even  a  bone ;  the  ground  was  much  trampled,  and  tracks 
of  lions  were  upon  the  sand,  but  the  body  of  the  buffalo 
had  been  dragged  into  the  thorny  jungle.  I  was  deter- 
mined, if  possible,  to  get  a  shot ;  and  therefore  followed 
carefully  the  trail  left  by  the  carcass,  which  formed  a  path 
in  the  withered  grass.  Unfortunately  the  lions  had 
dragged  the  buffalo  down  wind,  and,  after  I  had  arrived 
within  the  thick  nabbuk  and  high  grass,  I  came  to  the 
conclusion  that  my  only  chance  would  be  to  make  a  long 
circuit,  and  to  creep  up  wind  through  the  thorns  until  I 


The  Lion  129 


should  be  advised  by  my  nose  of  the  position  of  the  car- 
cass, which  would  be  by  this  time  in  a  state  of  putrefac- 
tion, and  the  lions  would  most  probably  be  with  the  body. 

"  Accordingly,  I  struck  off  to  my  left,  and  continuing 
straight  forward  for  some  hundred  yards,  again  struck  into 
the  thick  jungle,  and  came  round  to  the  wind.  Success 
depended  on  extreme  caution,  therefore  I  advised  my  three 
men  to  keep  close  behind  me  with  the  spare  rifles,  and  I 
carried  my  single-barrelled  Beattie.  This  rifle  was  ex- 
tremely accurate,  and  for  that  reason  I  chose  it  for  this 
close  work,  when  I  expected  to  get  a  shot  at  the  eye  or 
the  forehead  of  a  lion  crouching  in  the  bush.  Softly,  and 
with  difficulty,  I  crept  forward,  followed  closely  by  my 
men,  through  the  high  withered  grass  beneath  the  dense 
green  nabbuk  bushes,  peering  through  the  thick  covert 
with  nerves  strung  to  the  full  pitch  and  finger  on  the 
trigger,  ready  for  any  emergency.  We  had  thus  advanced 
for  about  half  an  hour,  during  which  I  frequently  applied 
my  nose  to  within  a  foot  of  the  ground  to  catch  the  scent, 
when  a  sudden  puff  of  wind  brought  the  unmistakable 
smell  of  decomposing  flesh.  For  a  moment  I  halted,  and 
looking  round  at  my  men,  made  a  sign  that  we  were  near 
the  carcass,  and  that  they  were  to  be  ready  with  the  rifles. 

"  Again  I  crept  forward,  bending  and  sometimes  crawl- 
ing beneath  the  thorns,  to  avoid  the  smallest  noise.  As 
I  approached,  the  scent  became  stronger,  until  at  length  I 
felt  that  I  must  be  close  to  the  carcass.  This  was  highly 
exciting.  Fully  prepared  for  a  quick  shot,  I  stealthily 
crept  on.  A  tremendous  roar  in  the  dense  thorns  within 
a  few  feet  of  me  suddenly  brought  the  rifle  to  my  shoulder ; 


130  Wild  Beasts 


almost  at  the  same  instant  I  saw  the  three-quarters  figure 
of  either  a  lion  or  a  lioness  within  three  yards  of  me,  on 
the  other  side  of  the  bush  under  which  I  had  been  creep- 
ing. The  foliage  concealed  the  head,  but  I  could  almost 
have  touched  the  shoulder  with  my  rifle.  Much  depended 
upon  the  bullet,  and  I  fired  exactly  through  the  centre 
of  the  shoulder.  Another  tremendous  roar,  and  a  crash 
in  the  bushes,  as  the  animal  made  a  bound  forward,  was 
followed  by  another  roar  and  a  second  lion  took  the 
exact  position  of  the  last,  and  stood  wondering  at  the 
report  of  the  rifle,  and  seeking  for  the  cause  of  this  intru- 
sion. This  was  a  grand  lion  with  a  shaggy  mane;  but 
I  was  unloaded.  Keeping  my  eyes  fixed  upon  the  beast, 
I  stretched  my  hand  back  for  a  spare  rifle  ;  the  lion 
remained  standing,  but  gazing  up  wind  with  his  head 
raised,  and  snuffing  in  the  air  for  the  scent  of  an  enemy. 
"  I  looked  back  for  an  instant,  and  saw  my  Tokrooris 
faltering  about  five  yards  behind  me.  I  looked  daggers 
at  them,  gnashing  my  teeth,  and  shaking  my  fist.  They 
saw  the  lion,  and  Taber  Noor,  snatching  a  rifle  from  Hadji 
Ali,  was  just  about  to  bring  it,  when  Hassan,  ashamed, 
ran  forward  —  the  lion  disappeared  at  the  same  moment. 
Never  was  such  a  fine  chance  lost  through  the  indeci- 
sion of  gun-bearers.  .  .  .  But  where  was  the  first  lion  ? 
Some  remains  of  the  buffalo  lay  upon  my  right,  and  I 
expected  to  find  him  most  probably  crouching  in  the 
thorns  near  us.  Having  reloaded,  I  took  my  Reilly  No. 
10  rifle,  and  listened  attentively  for  a  sound.  Presently 
I  heard  within  a  low  growl.  Taber  Noor  drew  his  sword, 
and  with  his  shield  before  him  searched  for  the  lion, 


The  Lion  131 


while  I  crept  forward  towards  the  sound,  which  was 
repeated.  A  loud  roar,  accompanied  by  a  rush  in  the 
jungle,  showed  us  a  glimpse  of  the  lion  as  he  bounded 
off  within  ten  or  twelve  yards,  but  I  had  no  chance 
to  fire.  Again  the  low  growl  was  repeated,  and  upon 
quietly  creeping  towards  the  spot,  I  saw  a  splendid  ani- 
mal crouched  upon  the  ground,  among  the  withered  and 
broken  grass.  The  lioness  lay  dying  from  the  bullet 
wound  in  her  shoulder.  Occasionally  in  her  rage  she 
bit  her  own  paw  violently,  and  then  struck  and  clawed  the 
ground.  A  pool  of  blood  was  by  her  side.  She  was 
about  ten  yards  from  us,  and  I  instructed  my  men  to 
throw  a  clod  of  earth  at  her  (there  were  no  stones),  to 
prove  whether  she  could  rise,  while  I  stood  ready  with  the 
rifle.  She  merely  replied  with  a  dull  roar,  and  I  ended 
her  misery  with  a  ball  through  the  head." 

"Lions,"  says  Andersson,  "if  captured  when  quite 
young,  and  treated  with  kindness,  become  readily  domes- 
ticated, and  greatly  attached  to  their  owners,  whom  they 
follow  about  like  dogs."  This  statement  is  hardly  worthy 
of  its  author,  and  the  fact  that  these  beasts  are  often  kept 
in  African  villages,  and  made  pets  of  by  Asiatic  rulers, 
does  not  at  all  warrant  his  sweeping  assertion.  He  knew 
better  than  to  suppose  that  a  young  wild  beast  did  not 
inherit  the  traits  of  its  ancestors,  or  that  one  cub  was  the 
same  as  another.  Likewise  there  is  no  reason  to  doubt 
that  he  was  acquainted  with  the  incidents  which  con- 
stantly attend  such  experiments  in  the  places  mentioned. 
All  this  has  already  been  discussed,  but  the  lion's  place  in 
the  opinions  of  those  who  live  in  the  same  land  with  him, 


132  Wild  Beasts 


and  are  unprepared  to  meet  his  majesty,  is  a  more  con- 
vincing proof  with  respect  to  his  character  than  any  other 
that  could  be  advanced.  A  very  small  portion  of  mankind 
respect  anything  that  they  do  not  fear.  Wherever  lions 
exist  under  the  conditions  mentioned,  they  are  dreaded, 
and  with  reason,  and  then,  very  often,  their  "  daring  and 
audacity  almost  exceed  belief,"  according  to  Andersson, 
who  after  all  expresses  the  sense  of  those  writers  in  whose 
self-contradictory  evidence  they  are  called  cowards.  It 
was  because  men  dreaded  the  lion  that  he  became  the 
emblem  of  wisdom  in  Assyrian  sculpture  and  the  type  of 
courage  in  Hebrew  poetry ;  that  his  head  crowns  the  body 
of  an  Egyptian  god,  and  that  his  form  has  been  taken  as  a 
royal  cognizance  in  the  East  and  West.  For  no  other  cause 
is  it  that  death  is  the  penalty  for  any  one  but  a  ruler  to 
wear  his  claws  in  Zululand,  or  that  among  the  Algerian 
Arabs  his  whole  body  possesses  magic  virtues. 

Lion  flesh  is  eaten  in  various  parts  of  the  earth,  although 
that  counts  for  nothing  with  regard  to  its  edibility,  for 
men  in  certain  phases  of  development  eat  everything. 
Andersson  ate  some  ("The  Okovango  River")  and  found 
it  white,  juicy,  and  "not  unlike  veal."  Much  the  same 
was  said  ages  before  his  time  in  Philostratos'  Life  of 
Apollonius  of  Tyana,  and  though  this  work  is  doubtless  an 
Alexandrian  forgery,  the  evidence  in  this  particular  is  just 
as  good  as  if  it  were  authentic. 

In  an  account  of  this  creature  it  remains  to  say  a  few 
words  more  about  its  intellect,  and  the  conditions  under 
which  it  is  developed.  Given  the  raw  material  of  mind  as 
a  variable  quantity  in  all  beings  belonging  to  the  same 


The  Lion  133 


group,  the  difference  between  them,  apart  from  that  which 
depends  upon  unequal  endowment,  results  from  the  degree 
to  which  the  exigencies  of  life  force  individuals  to  use  that 
amount  of  intelligence  which  they  possess.  Existence  to 
a  lion  is  a  very  different  thing  in  one  place  and  another ; 
it  is  difficult  or  easy,  varied  or  monotonous,  dangerous  or 
safe,  solitary  or  the  reverse.  In  other  words,  those  adjust- 
ments of  internal  to  external  coexistences  and  sequences 
which  constitute  what  is  essential  in  life,  may  be  many  and 
great,  or  few  and  small.  In  either  case  adaptations  must 
be  made,  but  unequal  enlargements  of  faculty  are  the 
necessary  results.  Take,  for  example,  the  average  lion  and 
place  him,  as  he  is  placed  in  fact,  under  the  opposite  con- 
ditions of  having  been  born  and  reared  in  a  desert,  or 
brought  forth  amid  a  cluster  of  villages  and  trained  to  prey 
upon  human  beings.  That  such  specimens  cannot  be  the 
same  needs  no  saying,  and  if  not  these,  then  not  any  who 
are  differently  placed  ;  so  that  to  go  into  some  large  prov- 
ince and  write  about  this  beast  as  if  the  few  individuals 
met  with  summarized  all  the  possibilities  of  its  race,  is 
manifestly  absurd.  Actually,  and  as  far  as  he  goes,  a  lion 
is  as  much  an  individual  as  a  man ;  like  men  also,  the  more 
general  resemblances  and  differences  among  them  which 
are  not  due  to  organization,  depend  upon  their  position. 

Diminish  the  quantity  of  game  in  the  area  where  a  lion 
lives,  and  its  character  is  altered.  Take  away  certain  objects 
of  prey,  and  replace  them  with  others,  and  the  brute  will 
be  more  or  less  cunning,  fierce,  bold,  enterprising,  and 
active.  He  cannot  live  at  all,  without  adapting  himself  to 
the  character  of  those  beings  among  whom  his  lot  is  cast, 


134  Wild  Beasts 


and  as  they  change  so  will  he  change  also.  The  same  is 
true  with  respect  to  alterations  in  physical  conditions. 

Lions  vary  with  sex ;  the  lioness  is  usually  less  grave  and 
inert,  but  quicker,  more  excitable,  savage  and  enterprising 
than  her  mate.  Once  when  Gerard  was  lying  in  wait  by  a 
dead  horse  a  lioness  arrived  with  her  cub,  but  pretended  not 
to  see  the  hunter.  She  instantly  pounced  on  her  unsuspect- 
ing whelp,  drove  it  out  of  harm's  way,  then  made  a  detour, 
and  stole  silently  back  to  kill  him.  This  means  maternal  so- 
licitude to  the  extent  of  temporary  self-forgetfulness,  pres- 
ence of  mind,  rapid  comprehension  of  the  circumstances 
involved  in  an  unexpected  and  unusual  situation,  determined 
purpose,  and  courage.  Tigers  constantly  make  false  charges 
with  the  design  of  intimidating  their  foes ;  lions  perhaps  re- 
sort to  this  ruse  less  frequently,  but  they  adopt  other  means 
to  the  same  end.  Much  of  their  awe-inspiring  appearance  is 
due  to  causes  acting  independently  of  will;  still,  they  delib- 
erately attempt  to  excite  terror.  One  night  while  Green 
and  his  friend  Bonfield  occupied  a  screen  near  a  watering- 
place,  a  lion  passed  and  repassed,  inspecting  them  closely. 
He  wished  the  intruders  away,  but  thought  it  imprudent 
to  attack  their  position,  and  they  objected  to  fire  because 
the  noise  would  frighten  away  elephants  for  which  they 
were  waiting.  Then  the  lion  walked  off  a  little  distance, 
lay  down  facing  them,  and  reflected  on  the  situation. 
Shortly  he  sprang  up  and  began  to  cut  extraordinary 
capers,  at  the  same  time  setting  up  "the  most  hideous 
noise,  neither  a  roar  nor  a  growl,  but  something  between 
the  two." 

The  beast  was  trying  to  frighten  off  these  unwelcome 


The  Lion  135 


visitors  who  might  keep  game  at  a  distance  and  inter- 
fere with  his  supper.  No  one  who  watches  young  wild 
beasts,  and  more  particularly  those  of  the  cat  kind,  can 
fail  to  notice  that  they  continually  rehearse  the  chief 
acts  of  their  lives  under  the  influence  of  imagination.  A 
lion's  memory  is  good,  and  he  can  be  taught  much.  His 
judgment  is  excellent,  and  he  seldom  attempts  what  he  is 
unable  to  carry  out.  In  cold  blood,  prudence  is  one  of  his 
distinguishing  characteristics,  and  he  is  also  very  sus- 
picious and  on  the  lookout  for  destructive  devices  and 
inventions  of  the  only  enemy  he  has  reason  to  fear ;  that  is 
to  say,  man.  Thus,  although  parts  of  Africa  may  be  said 
to  be  undermined  with  pitfalls,  lions  rarely  fall  into  them 
and  when  this  happens  they  often  claw  steps  in  their  walls 
and  get  out.  Not,  however,  out  of  the  trenches  dug  inside 
of  the  fence  round  an  Arab  cattle  pen,  for  there  their  ene- 
mies occupy  its  edge,  and  then  it  is  seen  that  there  are 
certainly  occasions  when  lions  meet  inevitable  death  in  a 
very  dignified  manner. 


THE  LEOPARD  AND  PANTHER 

THOSE  conflicting  opinions  we  have  thus  far  seen  ex- 
pressed upon  the  habits  and  characters  of  wild  beasts, 
are  not  replaced  by  any  unanimity  upon  the  part  of  those 
who  have  described  leopards  and  panthers.  They  have  a 
less  voluminous  literature  than  the  lion  or  elephant,  but 
their  temper  and  traits  are  disputed  about  in  every  partic- 
ular, and  even  the  place  they  occupy  in  nature. 

The  only  difference  between  a  panther  and  a  leopard  is 
one  of  size ;  or  as  G.  P.  Sanderson  ("  Thirteen  Years 
among  the  Wild  Beasts  of  India")  expresses  it,  the  dis- 
tinction is  the  same  as  that  existing  between  a  "  horse  and 
a  pony."  Dr.  Jerdon  (" Mammals  of  India")  states  that 
they  are  merely  "varieties  of  Felis  pardus"  and  if  the 
species-making  mania  were  not  so  prevalent,  one  might 
wonder  at  men  who  constantly  met  with  these  creatures 
in  Asia  and  Africa,  and  yet  wrote  about  them  as  if 
they  belonged  to  distinct  groups,  and  had  very  little  in 
common. 

Major  H.  A.  Leveson  ("  Sport  in  Many  Lands  ")  thus 
describes  the  panther  :  "  This  animal  frequently  measures 
eight  feet  in  length  from  its  nose  to  the  end  of  its  tail.  It 
has  a  well-defined,  bony  ridge  along  the  centre  of  its  skull 
for  the  attachment  of  the  muscles  of  the  neck,  which  is  not 

136 


The  Leopard  and  Panther  137 

noticeable  in  the  leopard  or  cheetah.  The  skin,  which 
shines  like  silk,  and  is  of  a  rich  tawny  or  orange  tan  above 
and  white  underneath,  is  marked  with  seven  rows  of  rosettes, 
each  consisting  of  an  assemblage  of  black  spots,  in  the 
centre  of  which  the  tawny  or  fulvous  ground  of  the  coat 
shows  distinctly  through  the  black.  Its  extremities  are 
marked  with  horseshoe-shaped  or  round  black  spots.  Few 
animals  can  surpass  the  panther  in  point  of  beauty,  and 
none  in  elegance  or  grace.  His  every  motion  is  easy  and 
flexible  in  the  highest  degree  ;  he  bounds  among  the  rocks 
and  woods  with  an  agility  truly  surprising  —  now  stealing 
along  the  ground  with  the  silence  of  a  snake,  now  crouch- 
ing with  his  fore-paws  extended  and  his  head  laid  between 
them,  while  his  chequered  tail  twitches  impatiently,  and  his 
pale,  gooseberry  eyes  glare  mischievously  upon  his  unsus- 
pecting victim."  Captain  J.  H.  Baldwin  ("  Large  and 
Small  Game  of  Bengal ")  writes  in  much  the  same  strain 
upon  the  specific  differences  between  these  varieties,  and 
he  is  at  a  loss  to  understand  how  Dr.  Jerdon  and  Mr. 
Blyth,  Captain  Hodgson  and  Sir  Walter  Elliot,  can  regard 
panthers  and  leopards  as  of  the  same  species.  The  differ- 
ence between  their  skulls  —  that  of  the  leopard's  being  oval, 
while  the  panther's  is  round  —  is,  he  asserts,  "of  itself 
conclusive  evidence  upon  this  disputed  question ; "  and 
besides  that,  "  the  two  animals  altogether  differ  from  one 
another  in  size  and  character." 

Technical  discussions  have  been  avoided  so  far  as  it  was 
possible  to  do  so,  but  here  it  seems  necessary  to  say 
briefly  that  head-measurements  as  a  basis  for  classifica- 
tion, whether  among  beasts  or  men,  have  always  failed ; 


138  Wild  Beasts 


also  that  developed  ridges  and  processes  are  for  the  most 
part  merely  concomitants  of  more  massive  skulls  in 
larger  animals  whose  muscles  are  of  greater  size  ;  and  that 
bulk  by  itself  ^means  very  little,  and  varies  in  most  cases 
very  much.  Finally,  the  coat-markings,  in  their  minor 
details,  of  all  animals  whose  skins  are  variegated,  constantly 
differ  in  the  same  species.  Among  Felidce  one  scarcely 
sees  two  lions  with  like  manes,  or  two  tigers  with  identical 
stripes.  As  for  the  spotted  or  resetted  groups,  their  spots 
not  only  vary  in  members  of  specific  aggregates,  but  even 
upon  different  sides  of  the  same  creature's  body. 

Lockington  ("  Riverside  Natural  History ")  states  that 
"the  leopard  (including  both  varieties  of  Felis pardus  under 
this  term)  is  very  variable  in  size  and  color."  Stanley, 
Emin  Pasha  (Dr.  Schnitzer),  and  Hissman  speak  of 
those  in  Somali-land  as  much  larger  than  any  others  in 
Africa,  yet  it  is  certain  that  there  is  but  one  true  spe- 
cies now  extant,  and  that  this  includes  those  forms  already 
spoken  of,  together  with  the  snow  leopard  of  the  Hima- 
layas, the  long-furred,  ring-marked,  bushy-tailed  variety  of 
Manchuria  and  Corea,  and  the  "  black  tiger  "  of  India  and 
the  Malasian  Archipelago,  which  is  nothing  but  a  panther 
with  its  colors  reversed, — a  "sport,"  as  G.  A.  R.  Dawson 
("  Nilgiri  Sporting  Reminiscences  ")  calls  it,  and  which 
according  to  him  is  "  of  a  uniform  dull  black  color,  with 
its  spots  (of  a  fulvous  tint)  showing  in  particular  lights." 
Colonel  A.  C.  McMaster  proved  that  these  dark  cubs  had 
been  found  in  litters  having  the  usual  coloration.  Gen- 
eral Hamilton  demonstrated  the  same  thing,  and  Colonel 
Pollok  ("Natural  History  Notes")  states  that  "the  black 


The  Leopard  and  Panther  139 

panther,  which  is  very  common  towards  Mergeri  and 
Tavay,  is  only  a  lusus .  natures"  He  himself  "saw  a 
female  panther  near  Shoaydung,  with  two  cubs,  one  black 
and  one  spotted." 

The  "snow  leopard  "  is  very  little  known  on  account  of 
the  solitary  and  inaccessible  regions  it  inhabits.  "  It  is 
the  rarest  event,"  says  Colonel  F.  Markham  ("Shooting 
in  the  Himalayas"),  "to  see  one,  though  it  roams  about 
apparently  as  much  by  day  as  by  night.  Even  the  shep- 
herds who  pass  the  whole  of  the  summer  months,  year 
after  year,  in  the  area  where  it  lives,  that  is  to  say,  above 
the  forests  where  there  is  little  or  no  cover  .  .  .  seldom 
see  one.  ...  It  is  surprising  and  unaccountable  how  it 
eludes  observation."  He  describes  its  ground  color  as 
being  of  a  dingy  white,  with  faint  yellowish-brown  mark- 
ings, and  represents  the  animal  to  be  considerably  smaller 
than  its  congeners  of  the  hot  country  below.  Captain 
Baldwin,  however,  saw  a  skin  as  large  as  a  panther's. 
This  was  "of  a  light  gray  color,  with  irregular  black  spots. 
There  was  a  black  line  running  lengthways  over  the  hind 
quarters,  the  hair  was  long  on  the  neck,  and  the  tail  was 
remarkably  long,  ringed  with  black,  and  black  at  the 

dp." 

An  animal  of  the  same  species,  and  very  like  this,  is 
confined  to  the  equatorial  belt  of  Africa.  It  is  as  rare  as 
the  "  snow  leopard,"  and  has  only  been  seen  once  or  twice. 
Andersson  ("Lake  N'gami ")  reports  that  the  "maned 
leopard  "  was  mistaken  by  him  for  a  lion.  This  name  is 
a  translation  of  the  native  title  —  N'gulula,  and  Leslie, 
who  knew  more  about  it  than  any  one  else,  states  that  "  a 


140  Wild  Beasts 


cub  is  gray,  light,  and  furry.  .  .  .  The  half-grown  one, 
gray  also,  but  the  spots  are  faintly  distinguishable.  In  the 
full-grown  animal  they  are  perfectly  plain,  but  very  dirty 
and  undefined.  There  is  also  a  peculiar  gray  hog  mane." 
W.  H.  Drummond  ("Large  Game  and  Natural  History  of 
Southern  Africa  ")  also  met  with  the  N'gulula,  and  he,  like 
Andersson,  thought  at  first  that  it  was  a  small  lion,  which 
it  greatly  resembled  "  in  shape  and  color." 

We  may  now  turn  from  the  varieties  of  Felis  pardus  an4 
their  external  characteristics,  to  an  investigation  of  those 
traits  which  have  become  organized  in  them  during  the  long 
course  of  ages  in  which  they  have  become  specialized, 
physically  and  mentally,  for  a  predatory  life. 

To  know  what  an  animal  of  this  kind  feeds  on,  and  how 
it  takes  its  prey,  is  also  to  know  much  about  its  structure, 
temper,  and  disposition.  Neither  lions  nor  tigers  find  the 
game  upon  which  they  subsist  in  trees,  and  the  latter, 
therefore,  rarely  climb,  while  there  is  no  account  of  the 
former  having  been  seen  to  do  so. 

With  the  panther  and  leopard  this  is  quite  different. 
There  are  no  climbers  more  expert  than  these  beasts.  As  the 
Panama  chief  said  to  the  explorer  Oxenham,  "Everything 
that  has  blood  in  it  is  food  "  ;  to  these  animals  many  things 
without  blood,  or  at  least  without  red  blood,  are  food,  for 
they  eat  the  larva  of  insects,  insects  themselves,  and  birds' 
eggs  ;  likewise  many  fowls,  from  the  splendid  peacock  to  a 
common  crow,  which,  as  Sir  Samuel  Baker  remarks,  "  lives 
by  his  wits,  and  is  one  of  the  cleverest  birds  in  creation." 
The  panther  preys  on  deer  more  commonly  than  any  other 
kind  of  game,  although  it  destroys  reptiles,  rodents,  etc., 


The  Leopard  and  Panther  141 

and  wild  pigs  in  great  numbers.  Perhaps  a  wild  boar,  the 
"  grim  gray  tusker "  of  Anglo-Indian  tales  and  hunting 
songs,  "laughs  at  a  panther,"  as  General  Shakespear 
("Wild  Sports  of  India")  declares.  But  all  the  weaker 
members  of  his  race  become  victims  to  this  spotted  rob- 
ber's partiality  for  pork.  Monkeys,  too,  from  the  sacred 
Hanuman  down  through  all  secular  grades,  are  eaten  with 
avidity  by  these  animals,  and  they  kill  great  quantities  of 
them  despite  their  cunning.  There  is  nothing  alive  of 
which  monkeys  are  so  much  afraid. 

Both  leopards  and  panthers  .can  endure  thirst  much  better 
than  tigers,  and  the  latter  are  cave-dwellers  to  a  greater 
extent  than  any  of  the  larger  Felidce.  They  only  drink 
once  in  twenty-four  hours,  and  always  at  night.  Their 
retreats  lie  amid  low,  arid,  rocky  hills  covered  with  under- 
brush, traversed  by  gullies  whose  sides  have  been  washed 
out  into  recesses  by  floods,  and  their  rocks  worn  away 
into  caves  by  weathering  or  percolation.  They  are  much 
more  active  and  energetic  than  their  striped  relatives,  can 
better  endure  fatigue,  and  are,  as  a  rule,  bolder  and  more 
enterprising. 

It  is  very  far  from  being  a  fact,  however,  that  "the 
habits  of  leopards  are  invariably  the  same "  ;  that  is  an 
error  into  which  Sir  Samuel  Baker  was  betrayed  by  the 
doctrine  of  instinct,  and  which  has  likewise  been  shared 
by  nearly  every  other  writer  upon  natural  history.  There 
is  a  certain  sameness  in  the  behavior  of  such  creatures,  as 
there  is  in  that  of  all  classes  of  animals  leading  similar 
lives  ;  but  this  is  as  much  as  it  is  possible  to  say.  In  some 
localities,  for  example,  the  panther  is  strictly  nocturnal ;  in 


142  Wild  Beasts 


others  it  appears  that  he  hunts  during  the  day  nearly  as 
much  as  at  night.  In  no  instance  is  he  an  organic 
machine.  Far  from  it ;  this  prowling  marauder  is  the  fiercest 
and  most  adventurous  of  wild  beasts,  astute  to  a  degree, 
capable  of  using  every  faculty  to  its  fullest  extent,  well 
able  to  take  care  of  itself,  and  fatally  skilful  in  compassing 
the  destruction  of  others ;  a  being  in  every  way  qualified 
to  design  and  execute  its  projects,  to  achieve  all  those 
ends  which  courage  and  cunning  enable  it  to  attain,  and 
quite  fit  to  meet  the  ordinary  emergencies  that  may  arise 
during  the  perpetration  of  its  acts  of  rapine  and  bloodshed. 
The  panther's  cry  —  Gerard  ("Journal  des  Chasseurs") 
calls  it  a  "scream"  —  is  often  heard  upon  Indian  hillsides 
when  darkness  begins  to  obscure  the  scene.  Captain 
Baldwin  describes  it  as  a  harsh,  measured  coughing  sound, 
without  much  timbre  or  resonance,  rather  flat,  in  fact,  and 
not  at  all  like  the  roar  of  that  animal  it  most  resembles,  — 
the  American  jaguar.  Like  most  of  the  Felidce,  this 
species  commonly  gives  tongue  upon  leaving  its  lair,  or,  at 
least,  has  been  frequently  reported  as  doing  so.  This  is 
not  a  point  of  much  moment,  but  it  is  a  matter  of  con- 
siderable importance  to  the  inhabitants  of  any  village  that 
may  lie  in  the  neighborhood,  whether  that  ominous  voice 
dies  away  in  the  forest,  or  appears  to  be  approaching  their 
dwellings.  When  a  panther  takes  to  man-eating,  Colonel 
Pollok  ("  Sport  in  British  Burmah  ")  and  Captain  James 
Forsyth  ("The  Highlands  of  Central  India")  assert,  "he 
is  far  worse  than  a  tiger."  Certainly,  no  records  of  such 
desperate  ferocity  exist  in  the  case  of  any  other  creature  of 
the  cat  kind ;  no  other  is  reported  to  have  taken  like  risks 


The  Leopard  and  Panther  143 

or  to  have  succeeded  in  its  fatal  enterprises  in  the  face  of 
equal  difficulties. 

It  is  to  be  taken  into  consideration  that  a  panther  very 
rarely  exceeds  eight  feet  from  tip  to  tip,  or  weighs  more 
than  a  hundred  and  seventy  pounds.  Several  writers  have 
said  that  this  animal's  powers  of  offence  are  scarcely  inferior 
to  those  of  the  tiger ;  nevertheless,  nothing-is  more  certain 
than  the  fact  that  with  all  its  great  strength,  its  exceed- 
ing activity,  and  formidable  armature,  a  panther  cannot 
stand  before  a  tiger  for  a  moment.  It  cannot  overwhelm 
a  man  instantly,  bite  him  through  the  body,  or  crush  his 
life  out  with  a  single  blow ;  and  yet,  unless  like  the  super- 
stitious people  whom  this  fell  beast  destroys,  we  can 
imagine  demons  becoming  incarnated  to  scourge  humanity, 
nothing  more  terrible  and  deadly  than  a  man-eater  of  this 
class  can  be  conceived  of.  Captain  Forsyth  thus  sketches 
a  famous  panther  of  the  Seoni  district,  which  he  was  in 
charge  of  when  those  scenes  alluded  to  occurred.  "  This 
brute  killed,  incredible  as  it  may  seem,  nearly  a  hundred 
people  before  he  was  shot  by  a  shikari.  He  never  ate  the 
bodies,  but  merely  lapped  the  blood  from  the  throat.  His 
plan  was,  either  to  steal  into  a  house  at  night  and  strangle 
some  sleeper  on  his  bed,  stifling  any  outcry  with  his  deadly 
grip,  or  to  climb  into  the  high  platforms  on  which  watchers 
guard  their  fields  from  deer,  etc.,  and  drag  his  victim 
thence.  He  was  not  to  be  balked  of  his  prey,  and  when 
driven  off  from  one  side  of  a  village,  would  hasten  round 
to  the  opposite  side,  and  secure  another  person  in  the  con- 
fusion. A  few  moments  accomplished  his  murderous 
work,  and  such  was  the  devilish  cunning  he  joined  to  his 


144  Wild  Beasts 


extraordinary  boldness,  that  all  attempts  to  find  and  shoot 
him  were  for  many  months  unsuccessful.  European  sports- 
men who  went  out,  after  hunting  him  in  vain,  would 
often  find  his  tracks  close  to  their  tent  doors  in  the 
morning." 

It  is  about  time  that  the  usual  explanation  given  for  this 
kind  of  exceptional  conduct  upon  the  part  of  a  beast  of 
prey  by  those  writers  who  think  it  necessary  to  allude 
to  their  character,  otherwise  than  in  general  terms,  was 
banished  from  descriptive  natural  history.  The  course  of 
thought  upon  the  natural  relations  which  subsist  between 
men  and  brutes,  seems  to  run  somewhat  in  this  wise. 
At  sometime,  somewhere,  and  somehow,  all  inferior  deni- 
zens of  this  earth  were  made  to  appreciate  and  fear 
human  superiority.  That  impression  was  transmitted  as 
an  instinct,  and  is  in  full  force  now.  When,  therefore,  a 
predatory  animal  does  such  violence  to  its  nature  as  to  eat 
a  man,  the  shock,  which  according  to  conventional  ideas 
always  attends  great  crime,  unhinges  its  mind.  A  kind  of 
madness  ensues.  It  becomes  wild,  and  is  driven  by  Furies 
like  an  ancient  Greek  guilty  of  sacrilege,  or  early  Chris- 
tians who,  as  reported  by  Gregory  the  Great  and  many 
others,  had  swallowed  devils.  Instantaneous  change  of 
character  is  the  consequence,  and  the  creature  henceforth 
thinks,  feels,  and  conducts  itself  in  a  new  and  terrible 
manner. 

That  is  about  the  sum  and  substance  of  most  statements 
bearing  upon  this  subject,  and  there  is  not  the  slightest 
foundation  in  fact  for  any  of  them.  This  question  has 
been  considered  in  the  abstract ;  but  with  regard  to  the  pan- 


The  Leopard  and  Panther  145 

ther's  character  the  truth  is  that,  in  the  way  stated,  no  re- 
spect for  mankind  is  discoverable  in  his  conduct.  It  is 
indeed  notoriously  otherwise ;  and  this  is  nowhere  more 
clearly  shown  than  in  the  records  of  observations  made  by 
men  who  were  convinced  that  all  species  of  wild  beasts 
instinctively  feared  them.  "  The  Old  Shekarry  "  (Major 
Leveson)  writes  (  "  Hunting-Grounds  of  the  Old  World  " ) 
to  this  effect :  "  Panthers,  like  all  forest  creatures  .  .  .  are 
afraid  of  man,  never  voluntarily  intruding  upon  his  pres- 
ence, and  invariably  beating  a  retreat  if  they  can  do  so  un- 
molested." Then  this  authority  goes  on  to  tell  what  he 
has  learned  about  panthers  in  the  course  of  an  experience 
rarely  equalled  for  extent  and  variety.  They  are  "  more 
courageous  than  the  tiger.  .  .  .  The  panther  often  attacks 
men  without  provocation."  When  one  "takes  to  cattle- 
lifting  or  man-eating  he  is  a  more  terrible  scourge  than  a 
tiger,  insomuch  as  he  is  more  daring  and  cunning."  He 
relates  how  this  timid  'creature  that  never  voluntarily  ob- 
trudes himself  upon  human  presence,  fights  hunters  on  all 
occasions  ;  how  the  beast  broke  into  his  own  camps,  carried 
off  dogs  that  were  tied  to  his  tent  pole,  and  much  more  to 
the  same  effect. 

There  is  no  difficulty  in  finding  exploits  of  the  same 
kind ;  Rice,  Inglis,  Forsyth,  Barras,  Shakespear,  Pollok, 
Baker,  Colonel  Walter  Campbell,  who  saw  the  man  riding 
next  him  in  a  party  of  horsemen,  torn  out  of  his  saddle, 
or  Colonel  Davidson  moving  with  a  column  of  troops 
around  whose  encampments  the  sentinels  had  to  be 
doubled  to  prevent  panthers  from  killing  them,  all  tell  the 
same  story. 


146  Wild  Beasts 


"The  tiger  is  an  abject  coward,"  and  so  is  the  lion. 
Panthers  are  audacious,  but  they  run  away  upon  instinct, 
like  Falstaff.  No  qualifications,  no  reservations,  are  made, 
no  middle  ground  is  taken,  only  a  series  of  facts  is  given, 
which  prove,  so  far  as  anything  in  this  connection  can  be 
said  to  be  proved,  the  incorrectness  of  what  was  insisted 
upon  in  the  first  place. 

The  opinion  that  a  wild  beast  that  has  tasted  human 
blood  is  thereby  metamorphosed  morally,  "undergoes  a 
transformation  of  emotional  psychology,"  as  Professor 
Romanes  expresses  it,  scarcely  deserves  a  serious  refutation. 
There  is  not  the  slightest  reason  why  any  such  change  of 
character  should  take  place,  and  of  course  it  does  not. 
But  the  fact  of  a  wild  beast's  taking  to  man-eating  is  a  suf- 
ficient cause  for  an  alteration  in  habit.  What  modifies 
the  animal  then,  however,  is  not  the  fact  of  killing  a 
man,  but  the  discovery  of  the  ease  with  which  he  can 
be  destroyed.  Under  these  circumstances  the  brute 
simply  substitutes  one  kind  of  game  for  another ;  it  be- 
comes used  to  the  feeble  attempts  at  opposition  met  with, 
and  goes  on  with  its  murders.  Where  the  state  of  affairs 
is  different,  where  people  are  ready  to  combine  against 
such  scourges,  to  anticipate  their  designs,  pursue,  circum- 
vent, and  slay  them,  these  beasts  of  prey  do  not  devour 
men  ;  they  keep  as  far  from  them  as  possible. 

It  is  doubtful  if  it  could  be  shown  that  panthers  are 
more  prone  to  anthropophagous  habits  than  other  brutes, 
but  the  evidence  is  strongly  in  favor  of  the  fact  that  they 
fight  human  beings  more  readily.  Their  ferocity  and  hardi- 
hood are  exceptional  among  the  Felida. 


The  Leopard  and  Panther  147 

The  panther  described  by  Forsyth  set  at  naught  quite  a 
number  of  favorite  theories.  His  conduct  was  indeed 
very  different  from  that  which  might  have  been  expected 
if  the  main  features  of  character  common  to  his  family  are 
like  those  which  are  said  to  exist.  The  relations  of  cause 
and  effect  were  not  set  aside  for  his  benefit,  and  therefore, 
instead  of  being  at  once  prepared  to  do  the  things  he  is 
known  to  have  accomplished,  there  must  have  been  some 
period  of  preparation.  Of  all  things  it  is  the  most  im- 
probable that  this  animal  set  out  on  an  expedition  at  hap- 
hazard. Perception,  foresight,  comprehension,  judgment, 
resource,  were  not  suddenly  conferred  upon  him  when  he 
arrived  at  his  destination  and  taken  away  when  he  left. 
He  must  have  added  observation  and  training  to  his  in- 
nate qualities.  How  easily  or  to  what  extent  this  was 
done  we  cannot  decide ;  for  to  imagine  that  a  wild  beast 
could  come  out  of  the  forest,  and  instantly  become  an 
experienced  master  of  an  entirely  new  set  of  circum- 
stances and  have  the  ability  to  take  advantage  of  every 
opportunity  and  overcome  all  opposition,  is  preposterous  ; 
is  nothing  less  than  to  suppose  an  effect  without  a  cause. 
The  brute  in  question  gave  terribly  convincing  proofs  that 
it  understood  the  situation  in  its  entirety,  and  how  this 
could  have  been  the  case  unless  it  was  known,  in  what  way 
known  without  being  learned,  and  how  learned  without  a 
mind  passing  through  ordinary  processes,  does  not  appear. 

To  isolate  the  traits  of  an  animal  and  consider  them 
separately  is  a  mistake.  It  is  to  fall  into  the  same  error 
that  Stallo  and  the  transcendental  school  in  physics  have 
made  with  reference  to  the  attributes  of  matter.  These 


148  Wild  Beasts 


abstractions  of  the  mind  are  not  identical  with  realities 
in  nature.  They  cannot  be  studied  by  themselves  without 
distorting  the  subject  to  be  represented.  Compared  with 
that  of  other  great  cats  the  panther's  conduct  shows  that 
he  is  braver  than  the  rest.  But  this  is  only  an  empirical 
conclusion  and  throws  little  light  upon  the  animal's  charac- 
ter. We  are  not  in  a  position,  however,  to  analyze  this  in 
such  a  way  as  to  show  the  relative  development  of  its 
traits,  or  to  say  how  far  excess  in  one  direction  alters  the 
general  disposition. 

So  far  as  the  brute's  behavior  goes,  the  following  narra- 
tive will  be  found  to  bear  upon  several  points  that  have 
been  discussed.  Colonel  Barras  ("  India  and  Tiger  Hunt- 
ing") had  pitched  his  camp  in  the  Murree  jungles,  and 
it  was  crowded  with  the  usual  supernumerary  attendants, 
together  with  elephants,  gharry  bullocks,  horses,  and 
dogs.  One  night  as  he  and  his  companions  —  Messrs. 
Sandford  and  Franks  —  lay  upon  their  camp  beds  in  the 
deep  slumber  that  follows  a  hard  day's  work,  they  were 
awakened  by  "a  furious  roaring."  It  appears  that  a 
panther  had  come  among  them,  and  seized  upon  a  pet 
dog  belonging  to  the  Colonel  then  tied  to  his  tent  pole. 

The  brute,  finding  that  it  was  impossible  to  carry  off 
his  prey,  became  enraged.  Everybody  turned  out,  and 
the  panther  made  off  in  the  midst  of  the  hubbub.  But 
his  visit  was  looked  upon  as  a  challenge,  and  they  resolved 
to  postpone  any  further  proceedings  against  tigers  in  that 
vicinity,  until  this  marauder  had  been  hunted.  Orders  to 
that  effect  were  issued  to  the  head  shikari,  and  that  worthy 
acted  upon  them  with  such  success  as  to  report  next 


The  Leopard  and  Panther  149 

morning  that  the  trackers  had  marked  him  down.  "After 
the  usual  hot  march  of  three  or  four  miles,"  says  Colonel 
Barras,  "  we  came  upon  the  chief  shikari,  who  was  speedily 
to  place  us  face  to  face  with  our  hidden  foe.  On  arriving 
at  the  scene  of  action,  we  found  that  the  panther  had 
taken  up  his  quarters  on  a  steep  hillside  which  was  much 
more  thickly  covered  with  cactus  plant  than  usual.  The 
top  of  the  hill  was  flat  ...  and  devoid  of  cover.  The 
last  short  rise  up  this  eminence  was  so  steep  that  a  line 
of  beaters  had  drawn  themselves  up  in  tolerable  safety 
all  along  the  crest,  prepared  to  hurl  showers  of  rocks  and 
stones  down  the  declivity,  should  the  panther  take  an 
upward  course.  All  of  them,  however,  then  maintained 
an  immovable  attitude  and  a  profound  silence,  whilst  in 
a  whisper  scarcely  to  be  heard,  our  guide  pointed  out  the 
exact  bush  in  which  the  enemy  was  said  to  be  concealed. 
We  divided  the  distance  around  it,  and  gradually  closed 
in  towards  the  centre  of  attraction,  till  not  more  than  five 
or  six  yards  separated  us  from  the  place.  .  .  .  Here  we 
paused  in  circumspection ;  no  sound  struck  upon  the  ear, 
nor  did  so  much  as  a  leaf  quiver  a  warning  to  the  eye. 
But  though  invisible  to  us,  we  felt  that  the  animal  was 
aware  of  our  presence,  and  that  its  eyes  were  fixed  upon 
us  as  it  crouched  for  a  spring." 

Still  the  panther  remained  quiet,  "  and  whilst  the  party 
were  discussing  various  projects,  my  dog  keeper  asked 
permission  to  ascend  the  slope  of  the  amphitheatre  on 
which  we  were  standing,  so  that  he  might  join  the  line  of 
beaters  on  the  ridge  above.  Permission  was  given,  but 
he  was  strictly  enjoined  to  make  a  circuit  round  the  tract 


150  Wild  Beasts 


of  bushes,  to  enter  which  would  have  been  dangerous. 
He  had  not  gone  many  yards,  however,  when  with  true 
native  perversity  he  struck  well  into  the  middle  of  the 
cover,  and  stumbled  right  upon  the  panther,  which  to  his 
no  small  dismay  sprang  from  a  bush  only  a  few  feet  in 
front  of  him.  .  .  .  The  brute  suddenly  appeared  before 
us,  going  at  a  great  rate  through  the  underbrush.  As  it 
flashed  across  a  small  open  space  we  all  took  snap  shots, 
none  of  which  took  effect,  and  the  animal  dashed  into 
a  deep  ravine  and  disappeared."  Nothing  now  remained 
except  to  drive  the  game ;  that  is  to  say,  post  the  guns 
at  a  point  where  the  beast  would  most  probably  attempt 
to  break  out,  and  cause  the  beaters  to  advance  towards  it. 
This  was  done,  the  signal  given,  and  "  the  perfect  stillness 
was  instantly  replaced  by  a  wild  shrieking,  the  rushing 
sound  of  falling  rocks,  and  a  waving  about  of  people  and 
herbage  as  though  the  whole  mountain  were  about  to 
slide  into  the  valley  beneath.  No  panther  could  resist 
such  a  pressing  invitation  to  move  as  this  was,  and  our 
friend  accordingly  started  off  at  full  gallop  for  other 
quarters,"  which  he  again  reached  without  being  hit,  and 
presently  the  report  came  that  the  game  had  taken  refuge 
in  a  dense  clump  of  cactus  on  top  of  the  hill.  While 
messengers  were  despatched  for  rockets  to  drive  it  out, 
the  party  agreed  to  take  lunch,  and  the  "tiffin  basket" 
was  placed  on  the  shady  side  of  that  impenetrable  cover 
where  the  panther  lay. 

"  For  a  few  moments,"  continues  Colonel  Barras,  "  we  sat 
quite  still.  Then  it  occurred  to  us  to  try  and  peep  through 
into  the  centre  of  the  mass  of  cactus  to  see  if  we  could 


The  Leopard  and  Panther  151 

make  out  the  whereabouts  of  its  present  occupant.  .  .  . 
Not  seeing  anything,  our  thoughts  reverted  naturally  to 
the  basket.  There  it  stood,  just  on  the  other  side  of 
Sandford.  I  stretched  across  him  to  reach  it  with  my 
right  hand,  and  had  just  grasped  the  handle,  when  a  suc- 
cession of  short,  savage  roars  broke  upon  my  ears,  min- 
gled with  the  wild  shouts  of  the  natives,  who  were 
evidently  being  chased  by  the  ferocious  brute.  At  this 
time  I  felt  that  my  hat  would  probably  do  more  for  me 
than  my  gun,  so  I  crushed  the  former  down  on  my  head, 
seized  the  latter,  and  faced  the  enemy.  The  panther 
meanwhile  had  floored  a  beater  and  got  him  by  the  arm, 
but  dropping  him  at  once,  came  at  me  with  lightning 
bounds.  Owing  to  the  beast's  tremendous  speed,  I  could 
see  nothing  but  a  shadowy-looking  form,  with  two  large, 
round,  bright  eyes  fixed  upon  me  with  an  unmeaning  stare 
as  it  literally  flew  towards  me.  Such  was  the  vision  of  a 
moment.  ...  I  raised  my  gun  and  fired  with  all  the 
care  I  could  at  such  short  notice,  but  I  missed,  and  the 
panther  bounded,  light  as  a  feather,  with  its  arms  around 
my  shoulders.  Thus  we  stood  for  a  few  seconds,  and  I 
distinctly  felt  the  animal  sniffing  for  my  throat.  Mechan- 
ically I  turned  my  head  so  as  to  keep  the  thick-wadded 
cape  of  my  helmet  in  front  of  the  creature's  muzzle ;  but 
I  could  hear  and  feel  plainly  the  rapid  yet  cautious  efforts 
it  was  making  to  find  an  opening  so  as  to  tear  the  great 
vessels  that  lie  in  the  neck.  I  had  no  other  weapon  but 
my  gun,  which  was  useless  while  the  animal  was  closely 
embracing  me,  so  I  stood  perfectly  still,  well  knowing 
that  Sandford  would  liberate  me  if  it  were  possible  to  do 


152  Wild  Beasts 


so.  ...  As  may  be  supposed,  the  panther  did  not  spend 
much  time  investigating  the  nature  of  a  wadded  hat- 
cover,  and  before  my  friend  could  get  round,  and  fire 
without  jeopardizing  my  life,  the  beast  pounced  upon  my 
left  elbow,  taking  a  piece  out,  and  then  buried  its  long, 
sharp  fangs  in  the  joint  till  they  met.  At  the  same  time 
I  was  hurkd  to  the  earth  with  such  violence  that  I  knew 
not  how  I  got  there,  or  what  had  become  of  my  gun. 
I  was  lying  on  the  ground  with  the  panther  on  top  of  me, 
and  could  feel  my  elbow  joint  wobbling  in  and  out  as 
the  beast  ground  its  jaws  with  a  movement  imperceptible 
to  the  bystanders,  but  which  felt  to  me  as  if  I  were  being 
violently  shaken  all  over.  Now  I  listened  anxiously  for 
the  sound  of  Sandford's  rifle,  which  I  knew  would  be 
heard  immediately,  and  carefully  refrained  from  making 
the  slightest  sound  or  movement,  lest  his  aim  should  be 
disturbed.  In  a  few  seconds  the  loud  and  welcome 
detonation,  which  from  its  proximity  almost  deafened  me, 
struck  upon  my  ear,  and  I  sat  up.  I  was  free,  and  the 
panther  had  gone" — bounded  away  shot  through  the 
body  with  a  heavy  rifle  ball,  into  an  acacia  and  karinda 
thicket,  from  which  it  had  to  be  driven  by  rockets. 

"Just  as  the  interior  of  the  thicket  became  lighted  up, 
and  the  crackling  of  the  herbage  was  at  its  loudest,  the 
animal  roused  to  frenzy,  by  the  overwhelming  character  of 
the  attack,  girded  itself  up  for  a  last  desperate  effort.  .  .  . 
It  rushed  from  its  now  untenable  hiding-place,  swift  and 
straight  as  an  arrow  upon  Sandford  and  myself.  He  fired 
both  barrels  at  the  beast  without  stopping  it  in  the  least." 
The  Colonel,  whose  wounded  arm  had  been  bound  up,  now 


The  Leopard  and  Panther  153 

carried  a  hog  spear.  "  We  had  only  time,"  he  says,  "  to 
open  out  one  pace  from  each  other,  and  the  momentum 
with  which  the  animal  was  coming,  almost  carried  it  past 
us.  As  it  brushed  my  right  leg,  however,  I  saw  it  twist 
its  supple  neck,  and  literally  stop  itself  by  clasping  Sand- 
ford's  thigh  in  its  extended  jaws,  bearing  him  to  the 
ground,  where  they  lay  for  a  moment  in  a  close  embrace. 
I  at  once  adjusted  my  spear  behind  the  animal's  shoulder, 
and  with  a  steady  thrust  drove  it  straight  through  the 
heart.  Franks  fired  at  the  same  instant,  and  it  would  be 
difficult  to  say  which  of  us  caused  the  panther  to  give  up 
his  last  breath.  It  was  dead  though,  yet  it  still  retained 
the  position  it  had  in  life,  and  its  teeth  were  so  firmly 
locked  in  the  flesh  of  its  foe,  that  I  could  not  open 
the  jaws  with  one  hand  —  they  felt  like  iron  to  the 
touch." 

There  are  a  number  of  narratives  of  like  import  with 
this,  but  neither  in  these,  nor  in  the  accounts  we  have  of 
conflicts  with  other  wild  beasts,  has  anything  been  said 
concerning  the  principle  upon  which  they  fight.  Briefly, 
no  brute  deliberately  engages  in  conflict  without  thinking 
that  the  advantage  is  altogether  on  its  own  side.  They 
may  be,  and  often  are,  mistaken,  but  brutes  never  fight 
fairly  with  intention.  Only  man  does  that,  civilized  not 
savage  man,  whose  motives  are  such  as  other  creatures 
know  nothing  about. 

Inglis  ("  Work  and  Sport  on  the  Nepaul  Frontier ")  re- 
lates an  experience  of  his  own  with  a  leopard  —  it  may  as 
like  as  not  have  been  what  is  here  called  a  panther  —  that  in- 
cludes a  good  many  points  which  have  been  touched  upon, 


154  Wild  Beasts 


—  the  much  talked  of  eye  power,  this  brute's  instinctive 
avoidance  of  man,  etc., — and  it  is  therefore  inserted  by 
way  of  illustration. 

"  I  was  camped  out  at  the  village  of  Purimdaha,  on  the 
edge  of  a  gloomy  Sal  forest,  which  was  reported  to  contain 
numerous  leopards.  The  villagers  were  a  mixed  lot  of  low- 
caste  Hindus  and  Nepaulese  settlers.  They  had  been 
fighting  with  the  factory,  and  would  not  pay  up  their  rents, 
and  I  was  trying,  with  every  prospect  of  success,  to  make 
an  amicable  arrangement  with  them.  ...  It  was  the  middle 
of  April.  The  heat  was  intense.  The  whole  atmosphere 
had  that  coppery  look  that  betokens  extreme  heat,  and  the 
air  was  loaded  with  a  fine,  yellow  dust  which  the  west  wind 
bore  on  its  fever-laden  wings,  to  disturb  the  lungs  and 
temper  of  all  good  Christians.  The  Kanats,  or  canvas 
walls  of  the  tent,  had  all  been  taken  down  for  the  sake  of 
coolness,  and  my  camp  bed  lay  in  one  corner,  open  all 
round  to  the  outside  air,  and  only  sheltered  from  the  dew. 
It  had  been  a  busy  day.  I  had  been  going  over  accounts, 
and  talking  with  the  villagers  until  I  was  hoarse. 

"  After  a  light  dinner  I  lay  down  on  my  bed,  but  it  was 
too  close  and  too  hot  to  sleep.  By  and  by  the  various 
sounds  died  out.  The  tom-toming  ceased  in  the  village. 
My  servants  suspended  their  low-muttered  gossip  around 
the  cook's  fire,  wrapped  themselves  in  their  white  cloths, 
and  dropped  into  slumber.  Toby,  Nettle,  Whiskey,  Pincher, 
and  the  other  terriers  looked  like  so  many  curled-up  hairy 
balls,  and  were  in  the  land  of  dreams.  Occasionally  a 
horned  owl  would  give  a  melancholy  hoot  from  the  forest, 
or  a  screech  owl  raise  a  momentary  and  damnable  din.  At 


The  Leopard  and  Panther  155 

intervals  the  tinkle  of  a  cow-bell  sounded  faintly  in  the  dis- 
tance. I  tossed  restlessly,  thinking  of  various  things,  till 
I  must  have  sunk  into  an  uneasy,  fitful  sleep.  I  know  not 
how  long  I  had  been  dozing,  when  of  a  sudden  I  felt  my- 
self wide  awake,  but  with  my  eyes  yet  tightly  closed. 

"  I  was  conscious  of  some  terrible,  unknown,  impending 
danger.  I  had  experienced  the  same  thing  before  when 
waking  from  a  nightmare,  but  I  knew  that  the  peril  was 
now  real.  I  felt  a  sinking  horror,  a  terrible  and  nameless 
dread,  and  for  the  life  of  me  I  could  not  move  hand  or  foot. 
I  was  lying  on  my  side  and  could  hear  distinctly  the 
thumpings  of  my  own  heart.  A  cold  sweat  broke  out 
behind  my  ears,  and  over  my  neck  and  chest.  I  could 
analyze  every  feeling,  and  knew  there  was  some  Presence 
in  the  tent,  and  that  I  was  in  instant  and  imminent  danger. 
Suddenly  in  the  distance  a  pariah  dog  gave  a  prolonged 
melancholy  howl.  As  if  this  had  broken  the  spell  that 
bound  me,  I  opened  my  eyes,  and  within  ten  inches  of  my 
face  there  stood  a  handsome  leopardess  gazing  steadily  at 
me.  Our  eyes  met,  and  how  long  we  confronted  each 
other  I  know  not.  It  must  have  been  for  some  moments. 
Her  eyes  contracted  and  expanded,  the  pupils  elongated,  and 
then  opened  out  into  a  lustrous  globe.  I  could  see  the 
lithe  tail  oscillating  at  its  extreme  tip  with  a  gentle  waving 
motion,  like  that  of  a  cat  when  hunting  birds  in  a  garden. 

"Just  then  there  was  a  movement  among  the  horses. 
The  leopard  slowly  turned  her  head,  and  I  grasped  the 
revolver  that  lay  under  my  pillow.  The  beautiful  spotted 
monster  turned  her  head  for  an  instant,  showed  her  teeth, 
and  then  with  one  bound  went  through  the  open  side  of  the 


156  Wild  Beasts 


tent.  I  fired  two  shots,  which  were  answered  with  a  roar. 
The  din  that  followed  would  have  frightened  the  devil.  It 
was  a  beautiful,  clear  night  with  a  moon  at  the  full,  and 
everything  showed  as  plainly  as  at  noonday.  My  servants 
uttered  exclamations  of  terror.  The  terriers  went  into  an 
agony  of  yelps  and  barks.  The  horses  snorted  and  tried 
to  break  loose,  and  my  chowkeydar,  who  had  been  asleep 
on  his  watch,  thinking  a  band  of  Dacoits  had  come  upon 
us,  began  to  lay  about  him  with  his  staff,  and  shout, '  Chor  ! 
Chor !  lagga!  lagga !  lagga!'  that  is,  '  thief!  thief!  lay 
on  !  lay  on  !  lay  on  ! ' 

"The  leopard  was  hit,  and  was  evidently  in  a  terrible 
temper.  She  halted  not  thirty  paces  from  the  tent,  beside 
a  Shanum  tree,  and  seemed  undecided  whether  to  go  on  or 
return  and  wreak  her  vengeance  on  me.  That  moment  of 
hesitation  decided  her  fate.  I  snatched  down  my  Express 
rifle,  which  was  hanging  in  two  loops  above  my  bed,  and 
shot  her  right  through  the  heart. 

"  I  never  understood  how  she  could  have  made  her  way 
past  dogs,  servants,  horses,  and  watchman,  into  the  tent, 
without  raising  some  alarm." 

Thus  far,  whether  in  courage,  enterprise,  and  skill, 
whether  in  sagacity,  or  desperation  of  attack  and  defence, 
nothing  has  been  found  to  traverse  W.  H.  Lockington's 
opinion  ("  Riverside  Natural  History  ")  to  the  effect  that 
panthers,  "  relatively  to  their  size,  are  the  fiercest,  strong- 
est, and  most  terrible  of  beasts." 

In  ancient  Egypt  and  modern  Abyssinia  lions  formed 
part  of  the  royal  paraphernalia.  Marabouts  lead  around 
sacred  animals  of  this  species  in  North  Africa,  and  if  they 


The  Leopard  and  Panther  157 

occasionally  kill  somebody,  the  public  in  those  parts  under- 
stand that  he  was  a  sinner  who  deserved  his  fate.  Leashed 
tigers  also  were  not  uncommon  in  the  courts  of  Hindu 
rajahs,  but  since  the  time  of  the  Indian  Bacchus,  whose 
car  they  drew,  panthers  have  rarely  appeared  in  parades. 
These  savage  brutes  do  not  lend  themselves  to  peaceful 
pageants.  From  all  accounts  they  are  the  most  intractable 
and  untrustworthy  of  creatures  —  the  least  susceptible  of 
instruction,  says  Sanderson  ("  Thirteen  Years  among  the 
Wild  Beasts  of  India  "). 

Panthers  have  often  been  seen  associated  in  families,  but 
they  do  not  display  what  Professor  Romanes  calls  "the  col- 
lective instinct  in  hunting."  They  can  supply  their  needs 
without  resorting  to  these  manoeuvres,  and  therefore  have 
not  formed  the  habit  of  practising  them. 

It  sometimes  happens  that  Felis  pardus  in  all  its  forms 
has  to  give  up  spoil.  The  lion  takes  its  prey  away,  and 
so  does  the  tiger.  Occasionally  some  blundering,  black 
rhinoceros  comes  upon  the  scene  and  puts  the  panther  to 
flight,  or  a  herd  of  wild  hogs  does  the  same.  Kuon 
rutilanSy  the  wild  dog,  is  reported  to  be  in  the  habit  of 
appropriating  their  supplies,  and  J.  Moray  Brown  ("  Shikar 
Sketches  ")  states  that  he  had  personal  knowledge  of  this 
fact.  Upon  the  whole,  however,  the  beast  in  question  is 
not  much  molested. 

Over-boldness  is  disadvantageous  to  any  animal,  and 
panthers  suffer  from  their  temerity  in  the  way  of  getting 
trapped  more  frequently  than  other  members  of  their 
family.  General  Morgan  ("  Memoirs  ")  remarks  that  "  it 
is  a  very  common  thing  to  catch  a  panther,"  but  nobody 


158  Wild  Beasts 


has  said  the  same  of  other  Felidce.  The  difficulty  lies  in 
comparing  these  species  so  as  to  assign  the  phenomenon 
to  its  real  cause.  The  question  is,  how  does  it  happen 
that  a  panther  walks  into  a  pit  more  frequently  than  a 
tiger  ?  It  cannot  be  said  that  it  is  because  the  latter  has  the 
more  intelligence  ;  facts  do  not  sustain  such  an  explanation, 
and  yet  the  absence  of  deliberation  stands  in  a  direct  rela- 
tion with  incompleteness  of  mental  development. 

It  might  be  argued  that  the  dissimilarity  was  due  to 
temperament,  and  that  while  neither  could  be  absorbed  by 
one  idea  —  that  of  committing  a  murder,  for  instance  — 
without  some  temporary  disregard  of  everything  else,  the 
panther  was  more  liable  to  this  state  of  mind  than  its  rela- 
tive. In  ordinary  parlance  such  a  tendency  would  be  called 
courage,  and  its  opposite  timidity,  although  that  is  rather 
a  loose  manner  of  speaking.  However  the  truth  may  be, 
there  is  no  doubt  that  a  tiger  will  often  come  up  to  a  bait 
fixed  over  a  pitfall,  examine  it  carefully  on  every  side,  and 
finally  walk  off  with  that  pleasant  grin  of  his,  while  the 
panther  precipitates  himself  into  the  cavity. 

This  beast  is  very  partial  to  dog  meat,  and  the  canine 
population  of  countries  where  panthers  abound  have  an 
abiding  fear  of  them.  Sir  Samuel  Baker  ("The  Rifle  and 
Hound  in  Ceylon  ")  says  that  his  dog  "  Smut,"  who  weighed 
a  hundred  and  thirty  pounds,  and  was  "a  cross  between  a 
Manilla  bloodhound  and  some  big  bitch  at  the  Cape,"  made 
a  practice  of  hunting  leopards  on  his  own  account.  This 
was  a  very  unusual  thing,  however,  since  the  largest  breeds 
of  the  East,  Poligar  dogs  and  Tibetan  mastiffs,  would  cer- 
tainly be  at  a  great  disadvantage  in  such  an  encounter. 


The  Leopard  and  Panther  159 

While  the  latter  was  encamped  upon  the  Settite  River,  an 
Abyssinian  tributary  of  the  White  Nile,  one  of  these  ani- 
mals sprang  into  the  midst  of  a  circle  of  men  resting 
around  a  watch  fire  and  carried  off  a  dog.  To  invade  a 
hunters'  camp  on  this  kind  of  an  errand  is  quite  common 
with  the  panther,  and  many  exploits  of  his  under  such  cir- 
cumstances have  been  put  on  record.  In  India  the  vil- 
lanous  pariahs  that  swarm  in  every  village  are  his  constant 
victims.  If  one  of  them  goes  into  the  jungle,  there  is  apt 
to  be  a  momentary  scuffle  in  the  dry  grass,  a  stifled  yelp, 
and  the  dog  vanishes.  So  in  rice  fields  and  around 
cattle  camps  where  the  Gwallas  build  their  temporary  resi- 
dences. Principally,  however,  the  panther  gets  game  of 
this  kind  from  permanent  settlements  infested  with  "  curs 
of  low  degree."  Panthers  know  them  well,  and  act  ac- 
cordingly. During  the  night  one  approaches  the  outskirts 
of  a  village  and  so  far  reveals  his  presence  as  to  show  the 
dogs,  who  are  always  prowling  about,  that  some  strange 
animal  is  near.  Now  they  in  turn  are  well  aware  of  the 
tricks  that  panthers  play,  but  on  the  other  hand  can  by  no 
means  resist  their  ingrained  propensity  to  make  a  display 
of  courage,  which  they  probably  possess  in  a  less  degree 
than  any  carnivora.  As  soon  as  these  pariahs  discover 
something  that  conceals  itself,  the  idea  which  naturally 
takes  possession  of  their  minds  is  that  this  cautious  con- 
duct is  due  to  a  fear  of  themselves.  The  pack  instantly 
darts  forward,  and  stops.  These  brutes  endeavor  to  get 
self-encouragement  out  of  absurd  antics  ;  they  leap,  they 
howl,  they  ramp  and  rave,  until  one  of  them,  more  excitable 
than  the  rest,  so  far  forgets  itself  as  to  approach  the  in- 


160  Wild  Beasts 


truder  too  closely.  A  shadowy  form  bounds  upon  it,  and 
all  is  over. 

If  panthers  were  contented  to  kill  these  animals  only, 
no  reasonable  objection  to  their  deeds  could  be  made.  Un- 
fortunately this  is  not  the  case ;  sheep,  goats,  pigs,  horses, 
cattle,  and  their  owners,  all  are  destroyed ;  and  when  some 
casualty  more  exasperating  or  tragic  than  usual  occurs, 
public  opprobrium  descends  upon  the  hereditary  huntsman 
of  the  commune  with  true  Asiatic  violence  and  unreason. 
Is  he,  the  accursed,  supported  in  ease  and  affluence  in 
order  to  snore  like  a  swine  while  people  and  their  prop- 
erty are  thus  devoured  ?  Oh  Ram  !  Ram  !  Ram  !  May 
the  choicest  curses  light  upon  him,  may  he  be  beset  by 
all  devils  whatsoever  !  Then  the  official,  who  is  wholly 
blameless,  and  except  by  accident  cannot  hope  to  do  any- 
thing against  a  beast  like  this,  curses  the  panther,  his 
fate,  his  fellow-citizens,  and  himself;  after  which  every- 
body forgets  the  matter. 

No  prudential  reflections  interfere  with  a  panther's  sin- 
gleness of  purpose  when  on  the  prowl.  Blood  is  his 
object,  and  blood  he  intends  to  have,  so  the  upshot  is  that 
he  often  finds  himself  at  the  bottom  of  a  pit  shaped  like 
an  inverted  pyramid  that  it  is  impossible  to  dig  out  of. 
What  subsequently  happens  depends  upon  the  demand 
for  wild  beasts.  If  an  agent  of  Jamrach's  has  left  an  order 
for  panthers,  or  some  native  ruler  signified  his  will  that 
they  be  forthcoming  immediately,  the  captive's  life  is  safe. 
Men  arrive  in  the  morning  with  something  that  looks  like 
a  magnified  crate.  It  is  inverted  over  the  pit's  mouth, 
earth  is  thrown  in,  the  floor  rises  and  with  it  the  captive, 


The  Leopard  and  Panther  161 

until  the  animal  is  forced  into  this  temporary  cage. 
Bamboo  crosspieces  are  then  slipped  under  and  secured, 
and  very  shortly  he  is  en  route.  If  the  destination  be  a 
zoological  park  or  menagerie,  it  is  said  that  the  beast  will 
live  longer  and  develop  physically  more  completely  in 
captivity  than  it  would  in  a  state  of  freedom.  This  is, 
to  say  the  least,  doubtful.  Much  might  be  advanced  upon 
the  subject,  but  biological  discussions  are  out  of  place 
here,  and  it  is  enough  to  point  out  the  fact  that  this  opin- 
ion must  be  purely  arbitrary,  since  no  vital  statistics  exist 
from*  which  such  a  conclusion  could  be  legitimately 
drawn. 

Returning  to  the  subject  of  traps,  they  are  not  always 
constructed  alike.  Besides  excavations  there  are  en- 
closures that  must  be  entered  intentionally  or  not  at  all. 
These  are  made  by  driving  palisades  deep  in  the  earth, 
roofing  them,  and  cutting  a  sliding  door  in  the  side.  It  is 
connected  with  the  bait  by  a  string  in  such  a  manner  as  to 
drop  when  this  is  touched.  Tigers  are  seldom  taken  in  by 
these  inventions,  but  the  panther  is  frequently  caught,  es- 
pecially if  a  live  animal  be  placed  in  the  trap.  How  he 
reasons  upon  the  unusual  circumstances  then  presented  we 
do  not  know.  Perhaps  there  is  little  or  no  deliberation  upon 
what  he  ought  to  do,  and  the  brute  merely  acts  in  obe- 
dience to  its  immediate  impulses.  But  if  we  examine  the 
behavior  of  panthers  that  go  into  villages  to  kill  men,  in 
all  instances  of  this  kind  the  animal's  conduct  is  marked 
by  a  union  of  skill  and  daring  with  cunning  and  circum- 
spection. What  makes  him  lose  his  prudence  in  face  of  a 
trap  ?  Except  himself,  there  is  not  a  great  cat  in  Asia 


1 62  Wild  Beasts 


that  would  not  be  apt  to  see  into  this  device  and  keep  out 
of  danger.  The  panther,  however,  enters  the  enclosure. 
Such  appears  to  be  a  fair  statement  of  facts  relating  to 
the  brute's  character  and  habits  in  this  connection,  but  no 
attempt  is  made  towards  explaining  them. 

In  certain  parts  of  India  panthers  are  netted.  That  is, 
nets  are  hung  about  ten  feet  high  behind  which  the  hunt- 
ers stand  with  spears.  It  is  not  jouer  de  rigtieur  to  use 
rifles  unless  these  defences  are  leaped. 

In  the  event  of  the  barrier  being  bounded  over,  the  re- 
sult to  the  huntsmen  depends  greatly  upon  the  way  in 
which  the  beast  attacks.  Some  animals  of  this  species 
have  a  curious  habit,  under  such  circumstances,  of  trying 
to  kill  all  their  enemies  at  once.  Much  the  same  has  been 
said  of  tigers.  Sir  J.  E.  Alexander  ("  Expedition  into 
Africa")  speaks  of  the  spotted  cats  of  that  country  as 
flying  about  among  a  crowd  of  enemies,  striking  first  at 
one  and  then  at  another.  In  such  a  skirmish  nobody 
might  be  seriously  injured.  On  the  other  hand,  they  can- 
not be  counted  upon  to  act  in  this  manner,  and  if,  like 
Barras'  panther,  one  singled  out  a  particular  man  and 
fastened  upon  him,  nothing,  it  is  likely,  could  save  his  life 
except  prompt  interference  upon  the  part  of  his  compan- 
ions. 

With  regard  to  its  attack  upon  game,  the  mode  in  which 
this  animal  takes  its  prey  has  been  definitely  settled  in 
several  different  ways,  as  is  the  case  also  in  respect  to  the 
manner  in  which  its  prey  is  eaten.  Colonel  Pollok  ("  Sport 
in  British  Burmah  ")  remarks  that  "  there  is  a  peculiar  and 
singular  distinction,  with  regard  to  the  mode  of  breaking 


The  Leopard  and  Panther  163 

up  their  prey,  between  the  tiger  and  the  panther,  the 
latter  invariably  commencing  upon  the  fore  quarters  or 
chest."  General  Shakespear,  nevertheless,  came  unex- 
pectedly upon  a  panther  that  had  just  killed  a  cow  in  the 
Bootinaut  correa,  and  it  was  feeding  upon  one  of  the  hind 
quarters,  "a  large  piece  of  which  had  already  been  con- 
sumed." Colonel  Barras  and  Captain  Forsyth  consider 
the  throat  to  be  the  part  first  fastened  upon,  Baker  states 
that  the  body  is  at  once  torn  open  to  get  at  the  viscera, 
and  Inglis,  Leveson,  and  others  explain  that  panthers  suck 
the  blood  of  their  victims  before  anything  else. 

Similar  dogmatic  opinions  and  exclusive  views  of  the 
way  in  which  a  panther  or  leopard  kills  game  have  been 
advanced.  They  are  said  to  break  the  neck  with  a  blow  of 
their  forearm  ;  and  also  never  to  do  so,  not  being  able  in 
the  case  of  large  animals,  and  with  small  ones  this  being 
unnecessary.  Some  authorities  maintain  that  the  cervical 
vertebrae  are  dislocated  by  twisting  the  head  ;  others,  that 
the  head  is  bent  backward  till  the  neck  breaks. 

Hon.  W.  H.  Drummond  ("  Large  Game  and  Natural 
History  of  South  and  Southeast  Africa  ")  says  that  "  leop- 
ards and  panthers  are  very  numerous  in  that  country." 
He  likewise  apparently  regards  these  varieties  as  distinct 
species,  and  writes  about  the  "  ingwe  "  or  Felis  leopardus, 
the  " N'gulula"  or  maned  leopard,  and  Felis pardus,  the  true 
panther,  as  if  two  of  these,  at  least,  belonged  to  different 
groups. 

Strangely  enough  to  any  one  acquainted  with  the  charac- 
teristics of  the  Asiatic  panther,  Drummond  asserts  that 
the  leopard,  which  is  a  comparatively  rare  animal,  is,  al- 


1 64  WM  Beasts 


though  of  smaller  size,  the  fiercer  and  more  dangerous  of 
the  two.  He  explains  that  its  rarity  is  more  apparent  than 
real,  and  depends  upon  the  creature's  "  nocturnal  habits 
and  the  thickness  of  the  jungles  they  lie  in,"  so  that  sports- 
men only  "  occasionally  come  across  them  by  accident." 

It  is  singular,  however,  that  a  hunter  who  had  passed  a 
number  of  years  in  a  country  where  they  abound,  should 
have  been  so  little  impressed  by  the  prowess  of  a  beast 
which,  at  least  in  Central  and  West  Africa,  is  very  destruc- 
tive to  human  life.  It  must  be  the  case  that  the  brute's 
character  varies  somewhat  with  locality,  yet  Drummond's 
narrative  portrays  a  condition  of  things  under  which  its 
native  ferocity  and  aggressive  nature  should  have  been 
developed  and  not  diminished.  However  this  may  be,  the 
pale,  almost  white-skinned  panther,  whose  light  color  is 
very  conspicuous  in  its  rosette,  was  plainly  regarded  by 
Drummond  as  a  much  less  formidable  foe  than  its  conge- 
ner of  the  Indian  jungles,  or  even  than  its  relations  which 
Baker  and  others  found  in  the  northern  parts  of  Africa. 

Still,  he  admits  that  "common  leopards,  i.e.  the  two  forms 
locally  known  under  the  name  of  ingwe,  are  much  to  be 
dreaded  when  brought  to  bay,  and  that  anecdotes  innu- 
merable might  be  related  of  instances  where  they  have 
killed  or  seriously  injured  both  white  and  black  hunters. 
The  virus  of  their  bite  is  very  great.  I  remember  once 
seeing  seven  men  belonging  to  a  Zulu  village  awfully  torn 
and  mangled  by  a  single  animal,  and  the  wounds  remained 
open  for  a  long  time,  and  ultimately  left  great  scars.  On 
the  other  hand,  I  know  of  several  who  have  died  where  the 
injuries  received  were  not  such  as  to  have  been  generally 


The  Leopard  and  Panther  165 

fatal."  Sir  W.  C.  Harris  mentions  it  as  a  peculiarity  of 
the  leopard's  attack  that  it  strikes  at  the  face  ;  Drummond 
says  nothing  about  this  trait,  and  the  former  author  proba- 
bly fell  into  some  confusion  of  ideas,  caused  by  the  well- 
known  tendency  of  this  species  to  tear  open  the  great 
vessels  of  the  throat. 

Panthers  and  leopards  are  only  varieties  of  the  same 
species,  yet  while  the  reputation  of  the  former  is  such  as 
has  been  stated,  hunters  often  speak  of  the  latter  as  if  it 
were  nearly  harmless  so  far  as  human  beings  are  con- 
cerned. Leopards  are  described  as  having  been  shot  right 
and  left  in  the  jungle,  treed  by  dogs  and  killed  on  limbs 
without  difficulty,  pelted  from  the  doorways  of  deserted 
huts,  and  speared  in  the  open  from  the  saddle.  Leveson, 
Drummond,  and  Baker  relate  experiences  of  this  kind,  but 
the  literature  of  the  subject  contains  many  very  different 
accounts  of  their  prowess.  Both  in  Asia  and  Africa  they 
have  often  been  found  to  be  extremely  dangerous  and 
destructive  animals.  There  is  good  reason  why  in  heral- 
dic blazonry  the  leopard  should  be  represented  as  passant 
gardant.  The  designers  did  not  know  it,  but  the  fact  is 
that  no  animal  capable  of  doing  so  much  harm,  and  that 
has  as  many  evil  deeds  to  answer  for,  is  at  once  so  enter- 
prising, so  stealthy,  and  so  full  of  cunning.  Compared 
with  him,  the  greater  Felidcz,  on  the  one  hand,  and  that 
much-abused  assassin  and  robber,  the  fox,  upon  the 
other,  are  "mild-mannered,"  and  might  be  called  bunglers. 

When  a  tiger  —  and  the  same  may  be  said  of  the  lion  — 
attempts  to  carry  out  a  scheme  he  has  formed  for  the  sur- 
prise and  murder  of  some  man  whose  whereabouts  he  has 


1 66  Wild  Beasts 


ascertained,  the  design  is  often  more  complete  than  the 
execution.  His  heavy  yet  muffled  tread  is  sometimes 
heard,  he  breaks  dry  sticks,  rustles  as  he  moves  through 
parched  herbage,  waves  long  grass  in  passing,  so  that  any 
experienced  eye  can  tell  he  is  there,  puts  his  head  out  of 
cover  prematurely,  is  apt  to  cross  open  spaces  when  a 
circuit  ought  to  be  made ;  again,  he  cannot  keep  his  tail 
still,  and  as  the  moment  approaches  for  making  an  end  of 
his  victim,  anticipation  of  the  pleasure  of  putting  the  man 
to  death  and  devouring  him  overcomes  his  caution,  and 
he  begins  to  purr.  This  is  not  a  loud  sound,  but  it  is  a 
very  impressive  one,  and  has  been  frequently  heard.  But 
no  creature's  senses  can  give  warning  of  a  panther's  or 
leopard's  approach.  Few  people  ever  heard  or  saw  one  of 
these  beasts  while  coming.  They  steal  upon  their  prey 
with  the  silence  and  certainty  of  death.  Their  stalk  is 
the  perfection  of  skill.  The  attack  is  rapid  and  fierce 
beyond  comparison ;  and  afterwards,  unless  the  ground 
is  such  as  will  retain  a  trail,  this  animal  cannot  be  fol- 
lowed. It  is  the  most  difficult  to  mark  down  of  all  beasts 
of  prey,  the  hardest  to  track  on  account  of  its  many 
tricks.  No  kind  of  game  is  so  often  hunted  unsuccess- 
fully. 

Leopards  get  the  advantage  over  a  being  far  cleverer 
than  any  other  forest  animal.  Monkeys  of  all  species 
detest  tigers,  but  have  an  intense  dread  of  the  spotted  cats. 
They  "  swear  "  at  the  former,  but  fly  from  the  latter,  and 
as  for  men,  monkeys  deride  them.  Panthers  and  leopards 
catch  these  creatures  in  trees,  on  the  ground,  by  day  and  by 
night ;  while  they  are  on  the  alert,  and  in  moments  when  an 


The  Leopard  and  Panther  167 

apparent  absence  of  danger  lulls  these  astute  little  beasts 
into  a  fatal  feeling  of  security. 

A  cattle-lifting  panther,  according  to  Pollok  and  Forsyth, 
is  more  destructive  than  a  tiger.  On  the  great  ranges  where 
herds  graze  during  the  time  when  pasture  is  destroyed 
by  drought  in  a  good  part  of  India,  the  depredations  of 
these  beasts  cost  the  owners  dearly,  and  they  likewise 
take  a  constant  toll  from  those  animals,  cows  principally, 
which  are  kept  at  villages.  A  buffalo  under  ordinary  cir- 
cumstances is  safe,  even  if  alone ;  and  when  the  herd  is 
united  to  resist,  even  he  with  the  stripes  has  not  the  slight- 
est chance  of  success. 

Cows,  however,  are  the  especial  prey  of  panthers.  In 
India  these  are  of  comparatively  small  size,  and  preter- 
naturally  imbecile.  The  Bovida  are  not  a  gifted  family  at 
their  best,  and  when  domestication  relieves  them  to  a  great 
extent  from  the  necessity  of  taking  care  of  themselves, 
they  lose  much  of  the  faculty  which  in  wild  forms  is  de- 
veloped under  the  stress  of  necessity.  Year  after  year, 
and  age  after  age,  the  panther  has  been  murdering  Indian 
cattle  in  the  same  way,  and  they  have  never  originated 
the  slightest  measure  of  precaution  or  defence.  The  full 
measure  of  their  weakness  of  mind  has  been  taken  by  the 
enemy,  and  when  he  concludes  to  give  up  hunting,  except 
as  a  pastime,  and  live  on  beef,  his  prey  may  be  said  to 
come  to  him. 

In  1863  Captain  Forsyth  hunted  panthers  on  the  higher 
Narbada,  under  the  auspices  of  an  old  shikari,  an  unspeak- 
able scoundrel,  who  had  killed  more  of  them  than  anybody 
else  whose  exploits  the  annals  of  sport  with  large  game  per- 


1 68  Wild  Beasts 


petuate.  Bamanjee  (the  Brahman)  seems  to  have  been 
exceptionally  honest  in  his  dealings  with  the  Captain,  and 
to  have  given  him  an  opportunity,  rarely  accorded  to  the 
hunters  whom  he  swindled,  for  making  observations  upon 
the  habits  and  character  of  these  beasts.  Forsyth  relates 
his  experiences  in  a  way  that  will  serve  as  a  summary  of 
what  has  been  already  said  about  Felis  pardus.  "The 
number  of  these  animals  in  the  districts  around  Jubbulpiir 
is  very  great.  The  low  rocky  hills,  .  .  .  full  of  hollows 
and  caverns,  and  overgrown  with  dense  scrubby  cover, 
afford  them  their  favorite  retreats ;  while  numbers  of 
antelope  and  hog  deer,  goats,  sheep,  pariah  dogs,  and  pigs 
supply  them  with  abundant  food.  A  large  male  panther 
will  kill  not  very  heavy  cattle ;  but  as  a  rule  they  confine 
themselves  to  the  smaller  animals  mentioned.  They 
seldom  reside  very  far  from  villages,  prowling  around 
them  at  night  in  search  of  prey,  and  retreating  to  their 
fastnesses  before  daybreak.  Unlike  the  tiger,  they  care 
little  for  the  neighborhood  of  water,  even  in  the  hot 
weather,  drinking  only  at  night,  and  generally  at  a 
distance  from  their  midday  retreat." 

The  scourge  that  a  man-eating  panther  becomes,  and 
those  traits  which  make  him  worse  than  either  the  lion  or 
tiger  when  he  has  taken  to  preying  upon  human  beings, 
have  been  already  given  at  some  length  ;  the  following 
statements,  however,  also  by  Forsyth,  place  the  panther's 
enterprise  and  hardihood  before  us  very  vividly  :  — 

"  In  my  early  hunting  days  I  fell  into  the  mistake  of 
most  sportsmen  in  supposing  that  the  panther  might  be 
hunted  on  foot  with  less  caution  than  the  tiger.  On  two 


The  Leopard  and  Panther  169 

or  three  occasions  I  nearly  paid  dearly  for  the  error,  and  I 
now  believe  that  the  panther  is  really  by  far  a  more 
dangerous  animal  to  attack.  He  is,  in  the  first  place, 
much  more  courageous.  For,  though  he  will  generally 
sneak  away  unobserved  as  long  as  he  can,  if  once  brought 
to  close  quarters  he  rarely  fails  to  charge  with  the  utmost 
ferocity,  fighting  to  the  very  last.  He  is  also  much  more 
active  than  the  tiger,  making  immense  springs  clear  off 
the  ground,  which  the  other  seldom  does.  He  can  con- 
ceal himself  in  the  most  wonderful  way,  his  spotted  hide 
blending  with  the  ground,  and  his  lithe,  loose  form  being 
compressible  into  an  inconceivably  small  space.  Further, 
he  is  so  much  less  in  depth  and  stoutness  than  ,a  tiger, 
and  moves  so  much  quicker,  that  he  is  far  more  difficult  to 
hit  in  a  vital  place.  He  can  also  climb  trees,  which  the 
tiger  cannot  do,  except  for  a  small  distance  up  a  thick, 
sloping  trunk.  A  few  years  ago  a  panther  thus  took  a 
sportsman  out  of  a  high  perch  on  a  tree  in  the  Chindwara 
district.  And,  lastly,  his  powers  of  offence  are  scarcely 
inferior  to  those  of  the  tiger  himself,  and  are  amply  suffi- 
cient to  be  the  death  of  any  man  he  gets  hold  of.  When 
stationed  at  Damoh,  near  Jubbulpur,  with  a  detachment  of 
my  regiment,  I  shot  seven  panthers  and  leopards  in  less 
than  a  month,  within  a  few  miles  of  the  station,  chiefly  by 
driving  them  out  with  beaters ;  all  of  them  charged  that 
had  the  power  to  do  so,  but  the  little  cherub  who  watches 
over  'griffins'  got  us  out  of  it  without  damage  either  to 
myself  or  the  beaters.  One  of  the  smaller  species  [For- 
syth  means  a  leopard,  which,  together  with  Byth,  Jerdon, 
and  other  naturalists,  he  regarded  as  a  true  panther  of 


1 70  Wild  Beasts 


less  dimensions  than  the  other  variety],  really  not  more 
than  five  feet  long,  I  believe,  charged  me  three  several 
times  up  a  bank  to  the  very  muzzle  of  my  rifles  (of  which 
I  luckily  had  a  couple),  falling  back  each  time  to  the  shot, 
but  not  thinking  of  trying  to  escape,  and  died  at  last  at 
my  feet,  with  her  teeth  fixed  in  the  root  of  a  small  tree. 

"  Another  jumped  on  my  horse,  while  passing  through 
some  long  grass,  before  it  was  fired  at  at  all ;  and  after 
being  kicked  off,  charged  my  groom  and  gun-carrier,  who 
barely  escaped  by  fleeing  for  their  lives,  leaving  my  only 
gun  in  possession  of  the  leopard.  I  had  to  ride  to  canton- 
ments to  get  another  rifle,  and  gather  together  some 
beaters.  When  we  returned  I  took  up  my  post  on  a  rock 
that  overlooked  the  patch  of  grass,  and  the  beaters  had 
scarcely  commenced  their  noise  when  the  leopard  went  at 
them  like  an  arrow.  An  accident  would  certainly  have 
happened  this  time  had  my  shots  failed  to  stop  this  devil 
incarnate  before  she  reached  them.  She  had  cubs  in  the 
grass,  which  accounted  for  her  fury ;  but  a  tigress  would 
have  abandoned  them  to  their  fate  in  a  similar  case.  The 
last  I  killed  was  a  man-eater,  that  took  up  his  post  among 
the  high  crops  surrounding  a  village,  and  killed  and 
dragged  in  women  and  children  who  ventured  out  of  the 
place.  He  was  a  panther  of  the  largest  size,  and  had 
been  wounded  by  a  shikari  from  a  tree,  .  .  .  rendering 
him  incapable  of  killing  game.  I  was  a  week  hunting 
him,  as  he  was  very  careful  not  to  show  himself  when 
pursued,  and  at  last  I  shot  him  in  a  cow-house  into  which 
he  had  ventured,  and  killed  several  head  of  cattle  before 
the  people  had  courage  to  shut  the  door." 


The  Leopard  and  Panther  171 

Among  other  peculiarities,  says  Forsyth,  "  their  indif- 
ference to  water  makes  it  extremely  difficult  to  bring 
them  to  book  ;  and  indeed  panthers  are  far  more  generally 
met  with  by  accident  than  secured  by  regular  hunting. 
When  beating  with  elephants  they  are  very  rarely  found, 
considering  their  numbers  ;  but  they  must  be  very  fre- 
quently passed  at  a  short  distance  unobserved,  in  this 
kind  of  hunting.  In  1862,  I  was  looking  for  a  tigress  and 
cubs  near  Khapa  on  the  Lawa  River  in  Betul.  Their 
tracks  of  a  few  days  old  led  into  a  deep  fissure  in  the 
rocky  banks  of  the  river,  above  which  I  went,  leaving  the 
elephant  below,  and  threw  in  stones  from  the  edge.  Some 
way  up  I  saw  a  large  panther  steal  out  at  the  head  and 
sneak  across  the  plain.  He  was  out  of  shot,  and  I  followed 
on  his  tracks,  which  were  clear  enough  for  a  few  hundred 
yards,  till,  at  the  crossing  of  a  small  rocky  nala  (gulch) 
they  disappeared.  I  could  not  make  it  out,  and  was 
returning  to  the  elephant,  when  I  saw  the  driver  making 
signals.  He  had  followed  me  up  above,  and  had  seen  the 
panther  break  back  along  the  little  nala  which  led  into  the 
top  of  the  ravine,  and  re-enter  the  latter.  I  then  went 
and  placed  myself  so  as  to  command  the  top  of  this  ravine, 
and  sent  people  below  to  fling  in  stones  ;  and  presently 
the  panther  broke  again  in  the  same  place,  this  time 
galloping  away  openly  across  the  plain.  I  missed  with 
both  barrels  of  my  rifle,  but  turned  him  over  with  a  lucky 
shot  from  a  smooth-bore  at  more  than  two  hundred  yards. 
I  then  went  up  to  him  on  the  elephant,  and  he  made 
feeble  attempts  to  rise  and  come  at  me,  but  he  was  too  far 
gone  to  succeed. 


172  Wild  Beasts 


"  The  panther  will  charge  an  elephant  with  the  greatest 
ferocity.  In  1863,  near  Jubbulpiir,  a  party  of  us  were 
beating  a  bamboo  cover  for  pigs,  with  a  view  to  the  stick- 
ing thereof  (that  is  to  say,  riding  them  down  and  spearing 
them  from  the  saddle) ;  my  elephant  was  with  the  beaters, 
when  a  shout  from  the  latter  announced  that  they  had 
stumbled  on  a  panther.  They  took  to  trees,  and  I  got  on 
the  elephant  to  turn  him  out,  while  the  rest  exchanged 
their  hog  spears  for  rifles  and  surrounded  the  place. 
She  got  up  before  me,  bounding  away  over  the  low 
bamboos,  and  I  struck  her  on  the  rump  with  a  light 
breech-loading  gun  as  she  disappeared.  Several  shots 
from  the  trees  failed  to  stop  her,  and  she  took  refuge  in  a 
very  dense,  thorny  cover  on  the  banks  of  a  little  stream. 
Twice  I  passed  up  and  down  without  seeing  the  brute,  but 
fired  once  into  a  log  of  wood  in  mistake  for  her,  and  was 
going  along  the  top  of  the  cover  for  the  third  time,  when 
the  elephant  pointed  down  the  bank  with  her  extended 
trunk.  We  threw  some  stones  in,  but  nothing  moved,  and 
at  last  a  peon  came  up  with  a  huge  stone  on  his  head, 
which  he  heaved  down  the  bank.  Next  moment  a  yellow 
streak  shot  from  the  bushes,  and  levelling  the  adventurous 
peon,  like  a  flash  of  lightning  came  at  my  elephant's  head, 
but  just  at  the  last  spring,  I  broke  her  back  with  the 
breech-loader,  and  she  fell  under  the  elephant's  trunk, 
tearing  at  the  earth  and  stones  and  her  own  body  in  her 
bloody  rage. 

"The  method  usually  resorted  to  by  old  Bamanjee  and 
other  native  shikaris  for  killing  panthers  and  leopards, 
was  by  tying  out  a  kid,  with  a  line  attached  to  a  fish-hook 


The  Leopard  and  Panther  173 

through  its  ear,  a  pull  at  which  makes  the  poor  little 
brute  continue  to  squeak,  after  it  has  cried  itself  to  silence 
about  its  mother.  No  sentiment  of  humanity  interferes 
with  the  devices  of  the  mild  Hindu.  A  dog  in  a  pit  with 
a  basket  work  cover  over  it,  and  similarly  attached  to  a 
line,  is  equally  effective.  I  ^have  known  panthers  repeat- 
edly to  take  animals  they  have  killed  up  into  trees  to 
devour,  and  once  found  the  body  of  a  child  that  had  been 
killed  by  a  panther  in  the  Betul  District,  so  disposed  of  in 
the  fork  of  a  tree.  They  are  very  often  lost,  I  believe, 
by  taking  unobserved  to  trees.  Beating  them  out  of 
cover  with  a  strong  body  of  beaters  and  fireworks  is,  on 
the  whole,  the  most  successful  way  of  hunting  these 
cunning  brutes ;  but  it  is  accompanied  with  a  good  deal 
of  risk  to  the  beaters,  as  well  as  to  the  sportsman  if  he 
is  over-venturesome ;  and  it  is  liable  to  end  in  disappoint- 
ment in  most  instances.  My  own  experience  is  that  the 
majority  of  panthers  one  finds,  are  come  across  more  by 
luck  than  good  management. 

"A  large  panther  was  making  himself  very  troublesome 
...  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  Jubbulpur  and  Mandla 
road.  He  had  killed  several  children  in  different  villages, 
and  promised,  unless  suppressed,  to  become  a  regular 
man-eater.  I  encamped  for  some  days  in  the  neighbor- 
hood of  his  haunts,  and  the  very  first  night  the  villain  had 
the  impudence  to  kill  and  drag  away  a  good-sized  baggage 
pony  out  of  my  camp.  The  night  being  warm  I  was  sleep- 
ing outside  for  the  sake  of  coolness,  and  was  awakened  by 
a  riving  and  gurgling  noise  close  to  my  bed.  It  was  too 
dark  to  see ;  so  I  pulled  out  the  revolver,  that  in  those 


174  Wild  Beasts 


uncertain  times  always  lay  under  my  pillow,  and  fired  off 
a  couple  of  shots  to  scare  the  intruder.  Getting  a  light, 
I  was  relieved  to  find  it  was  only  the  pony."  This  animal 
did  not  return  to  its  "  kill,"  and  Captain  Forsyth's  watch 
was  in  vain. 

There  are  certain  writers,  William  H.  Drummond,  and 
Sir  William  Cornwallis  Harris,  for  example,  from  whose 
works  it  might  be  inferred  that  in  East  Africa  panthers 
and  leopards  were  of  a  quite  different  character  from 
their  Asiatic  allies.  Taking  the  evidence  on  record  with 
regard  to  this  continent  as  a  whole,  the  discrepancy 
disappears,  however,  and  Felis  pardus  there,  appears  in 
much  the  same  aspect  as  elsewhere.  The  animals  are 
necessarily  modified  to  some  extent  by  differences  implied 
in  a  change  of  province,  but  in  the  main  they  are  reported 
by  observers  as  exhibiting  like  traits,  and  performing 
much  the  same  exploits  with  those  that  have  been  given. 


THE  JAGUAR 

CELTS  ONCA,  generally  called  the  jaguar,  and  very 
often,  in  the  regions  he  inhabits,  el  tigre,  or  the  tiger, 
is  a  large  and  heavy  animal ;  coming,  in  respect  to  its 
average  size,  between  the  Asiatic  panther  and  lion.  It 
is,  perhaps,  the  most  exclusively  inter-tropical  form  among 
Felidcz,  —  or  at  least  the  larger  species  of  that  family ; 
and  although  it  passes  beyond  equatorial  latitudes  both 
to  the  north  and  south,  and  is  found  at  considerable  ele- 
vations where  the  temperature  is  low,  this  beast  is  essen- 
tially an  inhabitant  of  hot  countries. 

H.  H.  Smith  and  others  look  upon  the  black  jaguar  of 
the  Brazilian  highlands  as  a  distinct  species,  and  one 
whose  range  is  different  from  that  of  the  spotted  animals 
of  the  Amazon  valleys  and  basin  of  La  Plata.  W.  N. 
Lockington  ("  Standard  Natural  History  ")  is  one  of  sev- 
eral authorities  who  consider  that  there  may  be  several 
true  species  of  Felis  onca,  besides  geographical  varieties. 
In  short,  the  zoology  of  this  great  American  cat  is  not 
settled,  and  the  records  relating  to  its  character  and  habits 
are  rather  scanty. 

Looking  at  a  full-grown  jaguar  carelessly,  one  might 
mistake  it  for  a  large  and  thick-set  panther,  with  a  rather 
short,  clumsy  tail,  and  very  massive  limbs.  But  besides 


176  Wild  Beasts 


that  the  angular  ocelli  on  its  coat  —  irregular  black  borders 
with  an  enclosed  spot  of  the  same  color  —  are  not  rosettes, 
the  ensemble  is  scarcely  the  same  with  that  of  a  panther, 
although  anatomically  these  species  are  nearly  identical. 

The  true  home  of  the  jaguar  is  in  the  great  woodlands 
of  the  Amazon.  "  Here,"  says  Lockington,  "he  reigns 
supreme;  the  terror  of  the  forest,  as  the  lion  is  of  the 
desert,  and  the  tiger  of  the  jungle;  the  acknowledged  and 
dreaded  lord  of  man  and  beast."  Charles  Darwin  found 
this  species  in  the  basin  of  the  La  Plata  River,  living  in  reed 
belts  and  around  lake  shores.  Unlike  the  panther,  jaguars 
cannot  live  without  a  constant  supply  of  water.  Falconer 
asserts  that  in  some  places  these  animals  subsist  chiefly 
upon  fish.  At  all  events,  they  are  very  expert  in  catching 
them,  and  fish  even  in  rivers  whose  banks  abound  with 
game. 

As  a  rule,  however,  that  large  rodent,  the  capybara,  now 
the  only  living  representative  of  an  ancient  family  other- 
wise extinct,  is  the  American  tiger's  chief  article  of  food, 
and  Darwin  reports  a  saying  among  the  Indians  to  the 
effect  that  man  has  little  to  fear  from  "  el  tigre's  "  attacks 
where  these  are  plentiful.  Another  point  of  resemblance 
between  this  beast  and  the  panther  is  their  mutual  fond- 
ness for  monkeys. 

Natives  believe  that  the  jaguar  fascinates  them.  All 
instances  which  have  been  given  of  the  exercise  of  this 
power  seem,  however,  to  be  susceptible  of  a  different 
interpretation,  and  naturalists  generally  discredit  the  idea 
that  such  an  influence  is  ever  exerted.  Hypnotic  phe- 
nomena, however,  are  actual  facts,  and  it  is  undoubtedly 


The  Jaguar  177 


premature  to  limit  the  possibility  of  their  induction  to 
human  beings. 

Apart  from  this  matter,  concerning  which  there  is  no 
certainty,  it  is  a  fact  that  the  brutes  in  question  take  their 
prey  mostly  on  the  surface  of  the  ground,  to  some  ex- 
tent in  water,  and  likewise  among  the  limbs  of  trees. 
They  are  indiscriminate  feeders,  and  besides  all  species  of 
land  animals  that  inhabit  their  range,  both  wild  and 
domesticated,  they  destroy  vast  numbers  of  turtles  and 
their  eggs,  lizards,  fish,  shell-covered  species,  and  even  in- 
sects. So  long  as  anything  has  blood,  whether  red  or  white, 
in  its  body,  it  does  not  come  amiss  to  what  Wood  calls  "the 
jaguar's  ravenous  appetite."  This  trait  makes  him  very 
destructive,  and  in  some  places  domestic  animals  have 
been  extirpated. 

The  jaguar,  although  he  principally  subsists  upon  game, 
hunts  men  also,  as  might  be  anticipated  both  from  his 
size,  strength,  and  family  traits.  An  almost  unarmed 
Indian  of  these  regions  is  no  match  for  a  brute  like  this, 
even  when  provided  with  the  blow-gun  used  in  those 
latitudes. 

Being  as  lazy  as  a  lion,  and  from  his  usually  abundant 
supplies,  generally  in  good  condition,  the  jaguar  most 
commonly  ambushes  prey.  Not  always,  however,  for 
T.  P.  Bigg- Wither  reports  that  they  have  been  known  to 
follow  upon  the  trail  of  companies  for  days,  while  awaiting 
a  favorable  opportunity  to  seize  one  of  the  party.  When 
"el  tigre"  designs  to  make  a  meal  of  peccary,  the  char- 
acter of  that  creature  compels  him  to  surprise  it.  This  is 
a  very  bold  and  inveterately  revengeful  animal,  and  more- 


178  Wild  Beasts 


over  is  rarely  found  except  in  herds.  An  attack  upon  one 
member  of  the  band  is  instantly  and  fiercely  resented  by 
all,  so  that  strategy  upon  the  jaguar's  part  is  essential  to 
success. 

It  is  not  at  all  unusual  to  find  people  congratulating 
themselves  upon  the  assumed  fact  that  formidable  brutes 
are  unacquainted  with  their  own  strength  and  skill.  This 
is  one  of  the  many  mistakes  made  concerning  lower 
animals. 

Returning  to  the  jaguar's  general  description,  one  of  his 
most  eccentric  propensities  is  the  pursuit  of  alligators. 
The  jaguar  kills  and  eats  these  reptiles  from  choice  ;  or  in 
many  instances,  simply  bites  their  tails  off  and  lets  them 
go.  H.  W.  Bates  found  a  recently-killed  alligator  partly 
eaten.  Orton  refers  to  this  habit  as  well  known,  and  both 
Smith  and  Wallace  speak  of  it  as  a  matter  of  common 
notoriety. 

Like  all  species  among  the  Felidce,  this  one  is  nocturnal. 
Their  "dull,  deadly-looking  eyes,"  as  Barton  Premium 
describes  them,  are  not  adapted  to  excess  of  light.  In 
remote  and  secluded  places,  however,  and  in  the  dark 
recesses  of  a  tropical  forest  they  prowl  at  all  hours,  and 
the  author  has  met  with  these  beasts  in  the  full  glare  of 
a  vertical  sun. 

When  a  jaguar  sets  out  on  a  foraging  expedition  at 
night,  he  begins  to  roar  like  the  lion  as  he  leaves  his 
lair;  and  again  like  his  majesty,  he  keeps  this  up  at 
more  or  less  regular  intervals  until  he  actually  begins  to 
hunt.  Jaguars  are  noisy  animals  at  all  times,  says  Dar- 
win, but  they  are  especially  so  upon  stormy  nights,  when 


The  Jaguar  179 


their  "deep,  grating  roar"  reverberates  through  the  forest 
in  a  manner  very  impressive  to  those  unaccustomed  to  the 
sound. 

Like  all  animals  with  retractile  claws,  they  are  in  the 
habit  of  sharpening  them,  as  it  is  called ;  but  it  is  not  for 
the  purpose  of  putting  a  point  upon  his  talons  that  a 
jaguar  draws  them  through  the  bark  of  trees.  All  the 
cats  are  given  to  trying  how  far  they  can  reach,  and  all  of 
them,  both  in  killing  game  and  feeding,  get  their  nails 
clogged  with  shreds  of  flesh.  It  is  to  cleanse  them  that 
they  scratch  tree  trunks,  from  time  to  time,  as  they  go 
along.  Darwin  asserts  that  each  animal  has  an  especial 
tree  to  which  he  resorts  for  this  purpose. 

It  is  agreed  among  several  authorities  that  a  jaguar 
constantly  strikes  down,  disables,  and  kills  game  with  a 
blow  of  his  massive  forearm.  At  the  same  time,  Wood, 
Humboldt,  and  Holder  write  as  if  death  always  ensued 
from  dislocation  of  the  neck.  When  a  horse  or  some 
other  large  quadruped  is  seized,  says  the  former,  his  assail- 
ant "  leaps  from  an  elevated  spot  upon  the  shoulders  .  .  . 
places  one  paw  on  the  back  of  the  head  and  another  on 
the  muzzle,  and  then  with  a  single  tremendous  wrench 
breaks  the  neck."  So  far  as  the  act  described  is  assumed  to 
be  of  invariable  occurrence  many  equally  reliable  accounts 
differ  entirely,  and  the  author  knows  from  personal  ex- 
perience that  jaguars  will  attack  in  front,  make  their 
assault  on  level  ground,  and  in  some  instances  do  not  at- 
tempt to  kill  either  man  or  beast  by  forcing  back  the  head. 

Independently  of  other  facts  and  considerations  which 
bear  upon  this  brute  in  its  relation  to  man,  the  name  by 


i8o  Wild  Beasts 


which  it  is  known  among  the  natives  is  more  conclusive 
with  regard  to  character  than  a  host  of  witnesses.  Ac- 
cording to  Burton  the  word  jaguar  is  composed  of  the 
Indian  (Tupi)ja,  we  or  us,  and  guara,  an  eater  or  devourer ; 
and  it  may  be  assumed  that  when  tribes  of  savages  con- 
ferred such  a  designation  as  this,  they  had  very  good 
reason  for  doing  so.  It  may  be  said,  however,  that  other 
etymologies  of  the  word  have  been  given. 

In  the  olden  days  of  exploration,  both  Gonzalo  Pizarro 
and  Orellana  spoke  of  the  loss  of  human  life  from  the 
depredations  of  jaguars ;  but,  strange  to  relate,  their  suc- 
cessors, the  accomplished  missionary  priests,  Artiega  and 
Acuna,  have  nothing  to  say  about  them  in  their  sketch 
of  the  natural  history  of  Northern  Brazil. 

Like  tigers,  lions,  and  panthers,  the  jaguar,  no  doubt, 
finds  it  easier  to  kill  a  man  than  almost  any  other  animal 
that  will  afford  him  a  full  meal,  and  under  favorable  con- 
ditions he  acts  accordingly.  Hence  along  the  Brazilian 
frontier  of  Guiana  where  these  beasts  are  very  numerous, 
E.  F.  im  Thurn  relates  that  he  found  the  forest  tribes 
sleeping  in  hammocks  swung  high  enough  above  the 
ground  to  be  out  of  reach  of  a  spring.  J.  W.  Wells  and 
the  distinguished  Waterton  describe  the  way  in  which 
their  tents  were  beset  by  jaguars.  Humboldt  tells  how 
his  mastiff  was  carried  off  from  within  his  camp  on  the 
Rio  Negro.  Darwin  mentions  that  "  many  woodcutters 
are  killed  by  them  on  the  Parana,"  and  that  they  "have 
even  entered  vessels  at  night,"  and  Von  Tschudi  recounts 
how  one  broke  into  an  Englishman's  hut,  seized  his  boy, 
and  bore  him  off  into  the  forest. 


The  Jaguar  181 


When  we  examine  the  records  of  the  first  European 
travellers  in  those  provinces  infested  by  jaguars,  their 
testimony  with  regard  to  its  character  is  quite  unani- 
mous. 

In  the  Adelantado  Pascual  de  Andagoya's  narrative  of 
Pedrarias  Davila's  expedition  .he  says,  "there  are  lions  and 
tigers  "  —  by  which  all  the  Spanish  and  Portuguese  writers 
meant  pumas  and  jaguars — "on  the  Isthmus  of  Panama, 
that  do  much  harm  to  the  people,  so  that  on  their  account 
the  houses  are  built  very  close  to  one  another,  and  are  se- 
cured at  night."  Father  Jose  de  Acosta  ("  Historia  natural 
y  moral  de  las  Indias  ")  explains,  however,  that  these  beasts 
are  not  equally  dangerous.  "The  tigers  are  fiercer  and 
more  cruel  than  the  lions."  Likewise  it  is  more  perilous 
to  come  in  their  way  "  because  they  leap  forth  and  assail 
men  treasonably." 

Pedro  Cieza  de  Leon,  of  whom  Prescott  remarks  that 
"his  testimony  is  always  good,"  gives  an  account  of  the 
state  of  affairs  on  the  road  between  Cali  and  the  port  of 
Buenaventura.  Here  are  "many  great  tigers,  that  kill 
numbers  of  Indians  and  Spaniards  as  they  go  to  and  fro 
every  day."  Likewise  in  the  mountainous  portions  of  the 
district,  these  animals  were  so  destructive  that  the  Indian 
houses,  which  are  "rather  small,  and  roofed  with  palm 
leaves,  .  .  .  are  surrounded  by  stout  and  very  long  pali- 
sades, so  as  to  form  a  wall ;  and  this  is  put  up  as  a  defence 
against  the  tigers."  So  far  as  the  author's  acquaintance 
with  the  Spanish  and  Portuguese  relations  goes,  all  author- 
ities of  this  class  agree  in  giving  these  beasts  the  traits 
that  those  theoretical  and  practical  considerations  men- 


1 82  Wild  Beasts 


tioned  respecting  the  temper  and  habits  of  the  large  car- 
nivora  would  lead  us  to  look  for. 

The  writer  never  saw  a  full-grown  animal  of  this  kind 
which  had  been  domesticated  to  the  extent  of  being  harm- 
less if  left  at  large,  and  never  succeeded  in  taming  one 
completely  himself.  E.  George  Squier  ("  Adventures  on 
the  Mosquito  Shore  ")  mentions  an  incident  in  which  such 
was  the  case.  He  was  summoned  to  an  interview  with 
"The  Mother  of  the  Tigers,"  who,  under  this  ominous 
title,  proved  to  be  a  modest  young  Indian  girl,  and  the  high 
priestess  of  one  of  those  secret  semi-religious  societies  that 
gave  Alvarado  so  much  trouble  in  the  days  of  the  Spanish 
invasion.  Her  retreat  lay  in  the  darkest  recesses  of  one 
of  those  gloomy  forests  where  there  is  always  twilight, 
even  at  the  tropical  noonday.  He  found  that  Sukia  was 
only  attended  by  one  old  woman,  and  guarded  by  an 
immense  jaguar.  This  beast  did  not  like  the  stranger's 
appearance,  but  made  no  attack,  and  at  once  passed  into 
the  house  and  lay  down  when  commanded  to  do  so. 

Perhaps  it  is  unnecessary  to  bring,  as  might  readily  be 
done,  proof  of  what  might  be  assumed  beforehand ;  namely, 
that  an  animal  like  the  jaguar  is  certain  to  attack  men 
wherever  their  possession  of  firearms  has  not  in  the  course 
of  time  taught  the  sagacious  beast  that  the  contest  is  an 
unequal  one.  It  happens,  however,  that  the  explorer  C. 
Barrington  Brown  ("Canoe  and  Camp  Life  in  British 
Guiana  ")  has  given  some  quite  explicit  information  con- 
cerning a  point  which  has  been  rarely  touched  upon,  that 
is  to  say  the  behavior  of  a  wild  beast  that  very  probably 
never  saw  a  man  before,  and  certainly  not  a  white  man. 


The  Jaguar  183 


Brown  was  in  a  country  infested  by  jaguars,  but  while 
remaining  in  the  peopled  regions  he  does  not  say  much 
about  them.  Once,  however,  he  records  the  fact  that  he  en- 
countered an  Indian  whose  neck  was  much  distorted  by  a 
bite  received  from  this  animal.  The  man  was  accompanied 
by  a  friend  armed  with  a  gun  when  the  jaguar  sprang 
upon  him,  and  was  shot  dead  by  his  friend.  Most  of 
Brown's  explorations  were  made  in  boats,  by  the  water- 
ways of  the  Essequibo,  Corentyne,  and  other  rivers  and 
their  affluents.  He  penetrated  into  parts  which  were,  so 
far  as  human  beings  are  concerned,  nearly  or  entirely 
uninhabited. 

"On  one  occasion,"  says  this  author,  "when  we  had 
landed  and  were  pursuing  a  herd  of  bush-hogs," — pec- 
caries, he  means,  —  "  two  men  were  left  in  charge  of  the 
boat.  We  had  not  been  away  in  the  forest  more  than  two 
or  three  minutes,  when  these  men  heard  a  heavy  footfall 
on  the  bank  above  them,  and  looking  up  saw  a  large  jaguar 
gazing  down  upon  them  from  the  very  spot  up  which  we 
had  clambered."  In  other  words,  neither  the  sense  of 
smell,  nor  actual  sight,  taught  him  anything  about  those 
enemies  whom  he,  in  common  with  all  other  wild  beasts,  is 
so  generally  represented  to  fear  instinctively.  "  They  im- 
mediately pushed  the  boat  off  shore,  fearing  an  attack  from 
the  tiger."  Afterwards  his  men  told  Brown  "that  this 
animal  was  one  of  those  the  Indians  call  '  Masters  of  the 
herd,'  that  it  followed  herds  of  swine  wherever  they 
went ;  and  that  whenever  it  was  hungry,  and  found  a  pig 
at  a  little  distance  from  the  rest,  pounced  upon  it,  killing 
it  with  one  blow  of  its  huge  paw.  The  squeak  of  the 


1 84  Wild  Beasts 


stricken  one  always  brought  down  its  companions  to  the 
spot,  whereupon  the  jaguar  climbed  a  tree  for  safety  till 
the  storm  it  had  brewed  was  over,  and  the  pigs  left  the 
spot ;  then  it  descended  from  its  perch  to  feed  on  the  flesh 
of  its  victim.  .  .  . 

"In  ascending  that  portion  of  the  Corentyne  below 
Tehmeri  rocks,  we  saw  a  large  jaguar  standing  on  a  granite 
rock  close  to  the  river  bank,  which  immediately  bolted  into 
the  forest  as  we  paddled  to  the  spot.  Glancing  up  at  the 
place  where  it  had  disappeared,  I  saw  it  sitting  down  and 
gazing  intently  at  us,  without  showing  the  least  sign  of 
fear.  I  took  aim  behind  the  shoulder  and  fired  a  charge 
of  large  shot,  which  caused  it  to  bound  forward,  fall  and 
roll  over.  But  at  once  regaining  its  feet  it  made  off  into 
the  forest."  Although  they  followed  the  bloody  trail, 
the  animal  was  not  seen  again. 

Brown  had  four  other  shots  at  jaguars  —  all  of  them 
close  —  and  he  wounded  two,  but  never  succeeded  in  bag- 
ging a  single  one.  In  every  case  observed  by  him  there  was 
an  entire  absence  of  that  behavior  which  is  said  to  be 
natural  and  instinctive.  The  animals  he  saw  expressed 
only  wonder  at  the  sight  and  scent  of  man,  as  well  as  at 
the  sound  of  his  voice. 

Father  Acosta  declares  that  the  jaguar  attacks  "treason- 
ably," that  is  to  say,  being  treacherous  like  all  cats,  and  one 
of  the  laziest  of  animals  besides,  he  springs  upon  his  prey, 
as  a  rule,  from  an  ambush,  which  may  be  above  the  creature 
seized  or  on  a  level  with  it,  according  to  circumstances. 

Like  all  large  beasts  of  prey,  these  brutes  kill  in  a 
variety  of  ways  as  existing  conditions  and  the  size  and 


The  Jaguar  185 


structure  of  the  creature  assaulted  suggest,  —  they  break  its 
neck,  tear  open  the  blood-vessels  in  its  throat,  strike  it  dead 
with  a  blow  from  their  powerful  and  massive  forearms, 
crush  its  life  out  in  their  spring,  drown  it,  and  tear  it  to 
pieces  while  alive.  This  last  is  the  way  in  which  such 
vast  numbers  of  the  great  river  turtles  are  destroyed  : 
they  are  turned  upon  their  backs,  the  claws  inserted 
beneath  the  breast  plate,  and  these  unfortunates  are  then 
torn  asunder. 

With  reference  to  the  act  of  overwhelming  an  animal, 
crushing  it  to  death,  or  killing  it  by  shock,  Emmanuel 
Liais  ("  Climats,  Geologic,  Faune,  du  Bresil  "),  who  gives 
a  somewhat  different  etymology  for  the  word  jaguar  from 
that  before  mentioned,  remarks  that  this  term  may  be 
translated  in  a  way  that  refers  directly  to  its  method  of 
taking  life.  "  Le  nom  de  Jagudra  pent  alors  se  traduire  en 
frangais  par  le  ptriphrase :  Carnassier  qui  ecrase  sa  proie 
d'un  settle  bond."  This  plan  is,  however,  inapplicable  to 
large  game. 

When  a  jaguar  catches  fish,  either  by  waiting  till  they 
rise,  or  by  attracting  fruit-eating  species  by  tapping  with  his 
tail  so  they  think  food  is  falling  from  the  trees,  he  simply 
tosses  them  on  shore,  and  they  suffocate  in  the  air;  but  with 
the  lemantin  of  the  Amazon,  upon  which  he  constantly 
preys,  that  would  be  impossible.  Paul  Marcoy  saw  the  act 
of  capture  and  describes  it  in  these  terms  :  "At  the  distance 
of  twenty  paces,  on  a  bank  facing  us,  and  but  a  few  feet 
in  height,  a  jaguar  of  the  larger  species,  — Yahuqratt pacoa 
sororoca,  —  with  pale  red  fur,  and  its  body  beautifully 
marked,  was  crouching  with  fierce  aspect,  on  its  fore- 


1 86  Wild  Beasts 


paws,  its  ears  straight,  its  body  immovable.  .  .  .  The 
animal's  eyes,  like  two  disks  of  pure  gold,  followed  with 
inexorable  greed  the  motions  of  a  poor  lemantin  which  was 
occupied  in  crunching  the  stalks  of  false  maize  and  water- 
plantains  that  grew  on  the  spot.  Suddenly,  as  the  leman- 
tin raised  its  ill-shaped  head  above  the  water,  the  jaguar 
sprang  on  it,  and  burying  the  claws  of  his  left  paw  in  the 
neck,  weighed  down  the  muzzle  with  those  of  the  right, 
and  held  it  under  water  to  prevent  its  breathing.  The 
lemantin,  finding  itself  nearly  choked,  made  a  desperate 
effort  to  break  loose  from  its  adversary,  but  he  had  no 
baby  to  deal  with.  The  tiger  was  now  pulled  under  and 
now  lifted  out  of  the  water,  according  to  the  direction  of 
the  violent  somersaults  of  his  victim,  yet  still  retained 
his  deadly  hold.  This  unequal  struggle  lasted  some  min- 
utes, and  then  the  convulsive  movements  of  the  lemantin 
began  to  relax,  and  finally  ceased  altogether  —  the  poor 
creature  was  dead.  Then  the  jaguar  left  the  water  back- 
wards, and  resting  on  his  hind  quarters,  with  one  fore-paw 
for  a  prop,  he  succeeded  in  dragging  the  enormous  animal 
up  the  bank  with  the  other  paw.  The  muzzle  and  neck  of 
the  lemantin  were  torn  with  gaping  wounds.  Our  atten- 
tion was  so  fixed  and  close  —  I  say  our  advisedly,  for  my 
men  admitted  that  they  had  never  seen  a  similar  spectacle 
—  that  the  jaguar,  which  had  just  given  a  peculiar  cry,  as  if 
calling  his  mate  or  his  cubs,  would  shortly  have  disappeared 
with  his  capture,  had  not  one  of  the  rowers  broken  the 
charm  by  bending  his  bow  and  sending  an  arrow  after  the 
cat,  which,  however,  missed  its  mark  and  planted  itself  in 
a  neighboring  tree.  Surprised  at  this  aggression,  the  ani- 


The  Jaguar  187 


mal  bounded  on  one  side,  and  cast  a  savage  glance  from 
his  round  eyes — which  from  yellow  had  now  become  red 
—  at  the  curtain  of  willows  that  concealed  us.  Another 
arrow,  which  also  missed  its  object,  the  shouts  of  the  oars- 
men, and  the  epithet  '  sua  —  suaj  double  thief,  which 
Julio  cried  at  the  top  of  his  voice,  at  length  caused  it  to 
move  away." 

It  is  not  from  the  jungle  only,  or  the  fringing  reeds  of 
streams,  from  dense  woodlands,  or  the  undergrowth  and 
high  grasses  of  those  restingas  (open  spaces  amid  over- 
grown and  often  submerged  country),  where  Bates  says 
they  may  be  most  successfully  hunted  with  beaters,  that  the 
jaguar  bounds  upon  his  prey.  He  is  by  no  means  exclu- 
sively a  denizen  of  the  forest,  and  Romain  d'Aurignac 
("  Tres  Ans  chez  les  Argentins")  merely  expresses  a  com- 
monly known  fact  when,  speaking  of  the  pampas,  he  re- 
marks that  "  les  jaguars  .  .  .  abondent  egalment  dans  ces 
parages"  On  these  great  plains  the  jaguar  subsists  upon 
cattle,  horses,  and  mules,  that  are  to  be  found  there  in  im- 
mense numbers,  as  well  as  upon  those  wild  animals  whose 
habits  of  life  confine  them  to  open  places. 

C.  B.  Brown,  speaking  of  the  causes,  whatever  these 
may  be,  which  prevent  the  increase  of  jaguars,  remarks 
that  "they  have  no  enemies."  This  is  true  in  so  far  as 
there  is  no  single  creature  except  man  in  those  provinces 
through  which  they  range  that  willingly  comes  into  colli- 
sion with  them.  No  doubt  the  jaguar  frequently  meets 
with  a  violent  death,  however,  which  is  not  inflicted  by 
human  agency.  In  one  case  that  is  certain  ;  the  great  ant- 
eater,  or  ant-bear,  has  been  known  to  kill  him.  Wallace 


1 88  Wild  Beasts 


and  others  vouch  for  the  truth  of  this,  and  there  is  nothing 
intrinsically  improbable  in  the  statement  that  an  animal  so 
large,  so  powerful,  and  so  formidably  armed  with  claws 
which  are  more  effective  than  those  of  the  jaguar  in  every 
way,  might  be  able  to  cling  to  its  enemy  long  enough  to 
inflict  mortal  wounds.  When  attacked  by  a  tiger,  the  ant- 
bear  turns  upon  his  back  and  uses  his  talons  with  deadly 
effect.  It  is  said  that  both  parties  in  such  an  engagement 
are  apt  to  perish.  The  jaguar  cannot  disengage  himself, 
and  the  ant-eater  dies  under  the  fangs  of  his  adversary. 

Those  qualities  which  this  creature  exhibits  in  procuring 
food  —  the  varied  styles  of  attack  and  modes  of  destruction 
it  makes  use  of  —  entitle  the  American  tiger  to  be  consid- 
ered as  among  the  first  of  the  whole  group  of  beasts  of 
prey.  But  there  is  little  doubt  that  some  things  are  attrib- 
uted to  him  through  that  admiration  and  reverence  he 
excites  in  the  aborigines,  which  are  without  foundation. 
It  is  said,  for  instance,  that  jaguars  mimic  the  cries  of 
many  animals,  and  thus  beguile  them  within  their  reach. 
Of  those  creatures  upon  which  jaguars  prey  most  con- 
stantly, however,  a  number  only  call  at  certain  seasons, 
others  are  practically  voiceless,  and  some,  as  monkeys  in 
general,  are  not  to  be  deluded  in  this  manner. 

Priests,  naturalists,  and  geographers,  whose  special  pur- 
suits occupied  them  fully,  have  chiefly  written  of  the  jaguar's 
provinces ;  so  that  the  strong  light  which  is  cast  upon  the 
character  and  habits  of  wild  beasts  by  narratives  of  the 
chase,  is  almost  entirely  wanting.  J.  W.  Wells  ("Three 
Thousand  Miles  through  Brazil ")  says,  speaking  of  hunt- 
ing jaguars  with  dogs,  what  the  author  knows  to  be  true  ; 


The  Jaguar  189 


namely,  that  animals  employed  in  this  way,  and  in  fact  the 
whole  canine  family  in  those  latitudes  where  these  animals 
are  found,  stand  in  mortal  fear  of  them.  He  admits,  how- 
ever, that  the  ordinary  Indian  dog  will  not  keep  upon  a 
tiger's  trail  without  constant  encouragement,  and  that  they 
never  close  with  them.  After  having  been  barked  at,  one 
can  hardly  say  chased,  for  a  certain  distance,  this  lazy, 
short-winded  brute  gets  into  some  large  tree  and  tries  to 
conceal  himself,  while  the  curs  yelp  around  it  until  their 
noise  brings  the  huntsmen  to  the  spot.  That  is  the  theory 
of  this  proceeding,  but  practically  it  does  not  work,  and 
few  jaguars  are  killed  in  this  manner.  Following  up  a 
tiger  with  dogs  just  in  front  —  for  they  will  not,  as  a  rule, 
keep  upon  the  trail  by  themselves  —  does  well  enough  to 
talk  about ;  but  when  the  place  where  this  is  to  be  done  is 
a  tropical  forest,  it  will  be  found  impossible  to  put  in  prac- 
tice. If  the  beast  were  not  disposed  to  come  to  bay,  it 
might  easily  get  through  mazes  impenetrable  to  men,  and 
go  its  way  along  paths  by  which  its  pursuers  could  not  fol- 
low. There  is  a  breed  called  "tiger  dogs"  in  Mexico  and 
Central  America,  but  the  author  has  never  seen  them  at 
work,  and  also  knows,  that  the  tigreros,  or  professional 
tiger-hunters  of  those  parts,  kill  most  of  their  game  with- 
out such  aid. 

Jaguars  are  constantly  seen  abroad  by  day  in  remote 
regions ;  but  from  the  reports  of  native  hunters,  and  on 
the  ground  of  personal  observation,  the  author  is  inclined 
to  believe  that  their  roar  is  seldom  heard  except  at  night. 
Waterton  speaks  of  it  as  an  "  awfully  fine "  sound,  and 
says  that  "it  echoed  among  the  hills  like  distant  thunder." 


190  Wild  Beasts 


Some  travellers  describe  it  as  a  deep,  hoarse,  rapid  repeti- 
tion of  the  syllables  pa-pa;  and  Brown,  referring  to  the 
calls  of  two  jaguars  he  heard  on  the  Berbice  River,  thought 
their  "low,  deep  tones,"  which  "made  the  air  quiver  and 
vibrate,  .  .  .  had  a  grand  sound,  with  a  true,  noble  ring 
in  it."  The  writer  never  detected  anything  like  a  "  ring  " 
in  it ;  on  the  contrary,  the  ordinary  intonation  is  markedly 
flat,  like  that  of  the  panther's  and  tiger's  ordinary  cry.  A 
jaguar  can  roar,  however,  and  often  does  so  with  violence : 
under  all  modulations  his  tones  convey  the  impression  of 
great  power. 

The  question  how  far  jaguars  hunt  by  scent,  and  how 
far  by  sight,  could  not  probably  be  answered,  both  senses 
being  constantly  employed.  T.  P.  Bigg-Withers  relates 
that  one  of  them  trailed  him  "  all  day  waiting  for  a  favor- 
able opportunity "  to  attack,  and  that  a  Botocudo  Indian 
was  finally  seized,  but  escaped  with  some  comparatively 
trifling  injuries.  This  pursuit  was  carried  on  no  doubt 
chiefly  by  scent,  although  the  animal  had  been  seen 
more  than  once.  Major  Leveson  ("  Sport  in  Many 
Lands  ")  makes  a  statement  in  connection  with  shooting 
from  machans  to  the  effect  that  elevated  positions  are 
favorable  to  the  sportsman  because  wild  beasts  "never 
look  up."  He  excepts  leopards,  it  is  true,  but  the  fact  is 
that  all  Felidcz,  leaving  out  lions  and  tigers,  which  are  too 
heavy  and  large  to  climb,  use  their  eyes  in  every  direction, 
and  in  prowling  for  food  through  forests,  scrutinize  the 
trees  where  their  prey  is  often  found,  as  closely  as  they  do 
surrounding  jungle  and  open  spaces.  Those  natives  who 
live  among  tigers  on  this  continent  do  not  at  all  events 


The  Jaguar  191 


think  themselves  safe  in  trees,  since  E.  F.  im  Thurn  and 
others  explain  that  they  not  only  swing  their  hammocks  out 
of  reach  among  branches,  but  build  fires  around  the  stems 
to  prevent  them  from  being  ascended.  In  such  a  case  the 
jaguar  would  probably  act  as  he  does  when  a  monkey  gets 
out  to  the  end  of  an  isolated  limb  that  will  not  bear  his 
weight  —  that  is  to  say,  spring  upon  the  prey,  and  come  to 
the  ground  with  it. 

When  a  lion  or  tiger  receives  a  shot,  it  is  very  often 
replied  to  by  a  roar,  and  this  whether  the  animal  attacks 
in  return  or  bounds  away.  A  jaguar,  however,  generally 
bears  his  wounds  without  any  outcry,  and  if  he  intends  to 
fight,  does  so,  like  the  panther,  at  once.  The  writer  has 
neither  seen  nor  heard  that  these  animals  make  use  of 
those  stratagems  that  tigers  constantly,  and  lions  fre- 
quently, adopt  for  the  purpose  of  intimidating  their  assail- 
ants and  causing  them  to  retreat.  It  would  appear  that 
jaguars  do  not  commonly  make  feigned  assaults,  but 
generally  charge  in  earnest,  with  lightning-like  rapidity, 
and  desperate  determination.  The  writer,  speaking  from 
experience,  is  inclined  to  think  that  these  animals  act  in 
this  way  as.  constantly  as  the  panther.  There  may  be,  how- 
ever, numerous  exceptions  to  this  behavior;  the  opinion  ex- 
pressed is  not  offered  as  if  it  were  final,  and  the  data  upon 
which  it  is  based  are  extremely  imperfect.  More  than 
that,  it  should  be  acknowledged  with  regard  to  any  facts 
stated,  that  they  only  represent  this,  or  any  other  animal's 
average  behavior.  There  can  be  no  doubt  that  wild  beasts 
will  sometimes  do  anything  and  everything  which  is  not 
positively  impossible. 


1 92  Wild  Beasts 


Whether  the  current  opinion  that  black  jaguars  are 
more  ferocious  than  those  of  the  spotted  variety  be  true, 
the  author  is  not  able  to  say.  Among  tigreros  this  is 
believed  to  be  the  case;  but  that  kind  of  animal  is  rarer 
than  the  others,  attracts  more  attention,  and  being  un- 
doubtedly dangerous,  naturally  gathers  round  it  certain 
superstitions  with  which  the  minds  of  this  class  of  men 
become  impregnated.  Natives,  in  general,  do  not  appear 
to  make  any  particular  distinction  between  the  varieties, 
and  such  records  as  we  possess  place  them  very  much 
upon  a  par,  with  regard  to  the  habits  and  characteristics 
that  have  been  spoken  of. 

The  jaguar's  strength  is  very  great.  These  beasts  are 
well  known  to  "  carry  off,"  as  it  is  called,  the  bodies  of 
horses,  etc.,  that  have  been  killed.  They  swim  broad 
rivers  also,  and  are  said,  like  the  royal  tiger,  to  fight  effec- 
tively while  in  the  water.  Wood  quotes  Dr.  Holder  to 
the  effect  that  on  one  occasion  a  jaguar  destroyed  a  horse, 
dragged  it  to  the  bank  of  a  large  stream,  swam  across  with 
his  prey,  and  finally  conveyed  it  into  the  forest.  The 
writer  in  the  "  Encyclopaedia  Britannica "  refers  to  the 
same  story,  but  besides  these  authorities,  this  kind  of  an 
exploit  has  not  been  recorded  by  any  one. 

Darwin  states  that  the  jaguar  prowling  at  night  is  much 
annoyed  by  foxes,  that  attend  his  movements  and  keep 
up  a  constant  barking.  It  is  well  known  that  jackals 
follow  or  accompany  lions  under  like  circumstances,  and 
Darwin  speaks  of  this  parallel  association  as  a  "curious 
coincidence."  But  the  fox  is  in  this  case  an  interloper 
like  the  other,  an  unwelcome  hanger-on  in  expectation  of 


The  Jaguar  193 


offal,  that  betrays  the  jaguar's  presence  when  he,  usually  a 
noisy  animal,  has  cause  to  be  quiet. 

It  is  singular  that  a  creature  so  noteworthy,  and  one 
so  frequently  mentioned,  should  remain  so  imperfectly 
known  in  many  important  particulars  relating  to  its 
natural  history,  habits,  and  character.  Dr.  Carpenter 
("  Zoology ")  remarks  that  it  "may  be  regarded  as  the 
panther  of  America,"  and  many  traits  which  favor  this 
likeness  have  been  given.  It  remains  to  say,  however, 
that  while  zoologists  express  themselves  in  guarded  terms 
with  respect  to  species  of  Felis  onca,  and  the  natives  dis- 
criminate half  a  dozen  among  the  spotted  kind  alone  ;  while 
Liais  describes  " le  jaguar  noir"  as  "a  third  species,"  and 
Azara  ("  Descripcion  y  Historia  del  Paraguay  ")  writes  of 
a  yellowish-white  variety  as  a  fourth  specific  form,  the 
black  jaguar,  in  all  probability,  only  adds  another  to  the 
many  resemblances  that  liken  this  beast  to  the  panther. 
Black  or  dark-brown  cubs  have  not,  as  in  the  case  of 
Felis  pardus,  been  found,  so  far  as  the  writer  knows,  in 
one  litter  with  those  marked  with  spots;  but  there  is 
reason  to  believe  that  they  occur  in  this  manner. 

Two  cubs  are  born  together  as  a  rule,  although,  as  hap- 
pens with  other  species  of  this  family,  the  average  number 
is  sometimes  exceeded.  Of  the  young  jaguar's  first  essays 
in  life  very  little  is  known.  Whether  its  father  takes  part 
in  the  whelp's  education,  as  a  lion  does,  or  is  on  the  con- 
trary a  destroyer  of  his  male  offspring,  like  the  tiger; 
how  long  parental  care  continues,  and  in  fact  all  details 
relating  to  its  period  of  infancy,  remain  obscure.  If  one 
inquires  about  these  matters  from  natives,  they  entertain 


194  Wild  Beasts 


him  with  romances,  legends,  and  folk-lore  tales.  It  was  a 
subject  for  comment  among  the  early  Spanish  writers  that 
so  few  of  these  animals  were  killed  by  Indians.  In  his 
"Brief  Narrative  of  the  Most  Remarkable  Things  that 
Samuel  Champlain  observed  in  the  Western  Indies," 
we  find  a  mention  of  some  jaguar  skins  that  had  been 
bartered  by  natives,  referred  to  as  rarities.  Now,  as 
many  or  more  come  annually  from  Buenos  Ayres  alone 
as  were  once  procured  in  the  same  time  throughout  the 
Amazon  valleys.  Notices  of  jaguars  being  taken  in  traps 
are  occasionally  found  in  books,  but  detailed  descriptions 
of  the  process  of  catching  them  the  author  has  not  met 
with.  Some  of  the  tribes  possess  efficient  weapons  of 
their  kind  —  bows,  strong  enough,  as  Cieza  de  Leon  asserts, 
"  to  send  an  arrow  through  a  horse,  or  the  knight  who 
rides  it."  These  Indians  are  in  the  habit  likewise  of  poison- 
ing their  arrow-heads.  Cieza  gives  an  account  of  how, 
after  much  trouble  and  persuasion,  he  induced  the  abo- 
rigines at  Carthagena  and  Santa  Martha  to  show  him  their 
mode  of  preparing  poison.  His  relation,  however,  is  not 
very  instructive.  Humboldt  and  Bonpland  ("  Voyage,  etc., 
Relation  Historique ")  give  "  curare  "as  the  active  prin- 
ciple of  those  mixtures  made  by  Amazonian  tribes.  These 
poisons  contain,  both  in  South  America  and  all  over  the 
world  where  they  are  used,  matters  which  are  more  or  less 
inert,  and  have  been  introduced  upon  purely  magical 
principles.  E.  F.  im  Thurn  found  the  effective  constit- 
uent used  in  Guiana  to  be  "  Strychnos-Urari,  Yakki,  or 
Arimaru  —  i.e.,  S.  toxifera,  S.  Schomburgkii,  S.  cogens" 
Both  he  and  Sir  R.  Schomburgh  speak  of  other  ingredients 


The  Jaguar  195 


—  bark,  roots,  peppers,  snake  venom  —  compounded  with 
the  more  active  principle.  Waterton  gives  much  the  same 
account  of  the  toxic  agent  used  by  means  of  the  bow  or 
blow-gun,  and  of  course  there  is  no  doubt  that  a  jaguar 
inoculated  with  enough  curare  would  die. 

As  for  foreigners,  their  reliance  has  always  been  upon 
firearms,  ever  since  the  first  arquebuses  were  introduced 
into  Spanish  America  by  the  conquistadores ;  and  nothing 
less  efficient  is  likely  to  avail  against  an  animal  that 
Audubon  and  Bachman  say  "  compares  in  size  with  the 
Asiatic  tiger,"  and  is  his  "equal  in  fierceness." 


THE   TIGER 

A  TIGER  to  the  majority  of  men  is  probably  the  most 
impressive  and  suggestive  of  all  animals.  Apart 
from  those  traits  so  obvious  in  his  appearance  that  they 
affect  every  one,  most  beholders  have  in  their  minds 
some  material  with  which  imagination  works  under  the 
quickening  influence  of  his  deadly  eye.  No  creature 
matches  him  in  general  powers  of  destruction ;  none 
enacts  such  tragedies  as  he,  amid  scenes  so  replete  with 
a  various  interest ;  none  sheds  so  much  human  blood. 

The  hunter's  spirit  natural  to  our  remoter  ancestors 
survives  in  their  descendants,  and  few  persons  are  placed 
under  circumstances  favorable  for  its  revival  without  ex- 
periencing something  of  its  force.  When  tigers  are  the 
objects  of  pursuit,  this  often  becomes  a  passion. 

One  can  scarcely  look  upon  the  poor,  dispirited  wretch 
behind  the  bars  of  a  cage,  without  freeing  it  in  fancy,  and 
transferring  the  animal  to  fitting  surroundings,  —  open 
spaces  in  jungle,  where  tall  jowaree  grass  waves  in  the 
evening  air,  deep  nalas  clothed  with  karinda  and  tamarisk, 
vast,  gloomy  forests  of  sal  and  teak,  magificent  mountain 
buttresses,  upon  whose  crags  stand  the  ruined  fortresses  of 
long-forgotten  chiefs.  The  tiger  of  the  mind,  splendid  and 
terrible  is  there,  and  we  are  there  to  meet  him. 

196 


=1 


gj 

O     .fc 


The  Tiger  197 


"In  some  parts  of  India,"  remarks  Inglis  ("Work  and 
Sport  on  the  Nepaul  Frontier  "),  "  notably  in  the  Deccan, 
in  certain  districts  on  the  Bombay  side,  and  even  in  the 
Soonderbunds,  near  Calcutta,  sportsmen  and  shikaris  go 
after  tigers  on  foot.  I  must  confess  that  this  seems  to  me 
a  mad  thing  to  do.  With  every  advantage  of  weapon, 
with  the  most  daring  courage,  and  the  most  imperturbable 
coolness,  I  think  a  man  no  fair  match  for  a  tiger  in  his 
native  jungles."  The  list  of  killed  and  wounded  shows 
that  this  opinion  is  not  without  foundation ;  and  when  we 
consider  what  it  means  to  meet  such  adversaries  as  these 
on  level  ground,  and  face  to  face,  our  judgment  of  its  accu- 
racy cannot  be  doubtful.  Gerard  compared  a  contest  on 
foot  with  a  lion  to  a  duel  between  adversaries  armed  with 
equally  efficient  weapons,  but  one  naked  and  the  other 
covered  with  armor  in  which  there  were  only  one  or  two 
spots  that  were  not  impenetrable.  He  intended  to  illus- 
trate, not  the  animal's  invulnerability,  of  course,  but  the 
fact  that  its  tenacity  of  life  was  such  that,  unless  instantly 
killed,  it  would  almost  certainly  kill  its  opponent.  For  this 
reason  sportsmen  mostly  shoot  from  howdahs,  or  machans 
in  tree-jungle.  In  its  depths  a  great  forest  is  nearly  life- 
less at  all  times.  In  India  its  skirts  are  commonly  fringed 
with  scrub,  and  there  most  of  the  vitality  of  these  regions 
concentrates  itself.  The  intense  heat  of  noonday  at  that 
season  when  tiger-hunting  begins  —  namely,  in  April  — 
makes  those  immense  woodlands  as  silent  and  lonesome, 
to  all  appearance,  as  if  the  hand  of  death  had  been  laid 
upon  them.  But  when  the  short  twilight  of  low  latitudes 
deepens  into  gloom,  the  air,  before  vacant,  except  for  the 


198  Wild  Beasts 


wide  sweep  of  some  solitary  bird  of  prey,  is  filled  with  the 
voices  of  feathered  flocks  returning  to  their  roosts.  Fly- 
ing foxes  cross  vistas  still  open  to  the  view,  and  great 
horned  owls  flit  by  on  muffled  wings.  Those  spectral  shapes 
which  haunt  such  scenes  appear  amid  the  solemn  gather- 
ing of  shadows  —  contrasts  in  shade  indescribably  altering 
objects  from  what  they  are,  waving  boughs  and  rigid  tree 
trunks  that  start  into  strange  relief  in  changing  lights, 
the  distorted  forms  of  animals  indistinctly  seen  moving 
stealthily  about.  Throughout  those  provinces  where  the 
most  famous  tiger  haunts  are  found,  positions  of  advan- 
tage, each  beetling  cliff  and  isolated  hill,  holds  mementos 
of  the  past  which  are  now  inexpressibly  desolate ;  the 
former  strongholds  of  Rajputs  that  may,  like  the  Baghel 
clan,  have  claimed  descent  from  a  royal  tiger.  As  we  sit 
aloft  watching,  a  gleam  of  water,  where  when  gorged  the 
beast  will  drink,  is  visible,  and  towards  that  also,  each 
with  infinite  precaution,  and  guided  by  senses  of  whose 
range  and  delicacy  of  perception  human  beings  cannot 
conceive,  the  thirsty  denizens  of  this  wilderness  take  their 
way.  When  we  mark  their  timid  and  uncertain  steps,  and 
see  how  often  they  hesitate  and  stop  and  turn  aside,  the 
truth  that  "nature's  peace"  is  only  a  form  of  words  ex- 
pressive of  our  own  misconception  and  blindness  reveals 
itself  most  impressively.  There  is  no  peace.  To  hunt 
and  be  hunted,  to  slay  and  be  slain,  that  is  the  cycle  of  all 
actual  life. 

Here,  while  the  solemn  booming  of  the  great  rock 
monkey  sounds  like  a  death  knell,  those  tragedies  take 
place  which  only  a  hunter  beholds.  Every  creature  has 


The  Tiger  199 


its  enemy,  and  there  is  one  abroad  in  the  gloaming  from 
which  all  fly.  Listen  !  Above  the  sambur's  hoarse  bark, 
the  bison's  cavernous  bellow,  and  hyaena's  unearthly  cry,  a 
deep,  flat,  hollow  voice,  thrilling  with  power,  floats  through 
the  forest.  It  is  a  tiger  rounding  up  deer.  If  he  were  in 
ambush,  not  the  slightest  sound  would  betray  his  presence. 
Now  his  roar,  sent  from  different  directions,  crowds  the 
game  together,  and  puts  it  at  his  mercy. 

When  and  in  what  way  will  our  tiger  come  ?  Some  of 
these  beasts  never  return  to  a  "  kill,"  they  lap  the  blood, 
or  eat  once,  and  abandon  their  quarry  altogether.  Others 
consume  it  wholly  in  one  or  several  meals,  and  even  after 
putrefaction  has  set  in.  This  animal  for  whom  we  wait 
may  approach  boldly  while  it  is  yet  light,  or  wait  till  dark- 
ness falls,  and  appear  at  any  hour  of  the  night.  At  its 
coming  it  might  put  in  practice  every  precaution  that 
could  be  made  use  of  in  stealing  upon  living  prey,  or  walk 
openly,  towards  the  carcass  with  long,  swinging,  soft  but 
heavy  strides. 

Incidents  of  any  special  kind,  however,  reveal  the  tiger's 
nature  only  in  part.  What  sort  of  a  being  is  this  in  whole ; 
how  much  mind  does  he  possess ;  what  are  the  traits  com- 
mon to  his  species  ;  and  what  their  individual  peculiarities? 
Do  tigers  roar  like  lions  and  jaguars,  and  is  it  probable 
that  their  neighborhood  would  be  announced  in  this  man- 
ner ?  Are  they  in  the  habit  of  going  about  by  day ;  and  if 
not,  on  what  kind  of  nights  is  the  beast  most  active  and 
aggressive  ?  How  does  a  tiger  take  his  prey,  especially 
man  ?  How  far  can  one  spring;  in  what  way  does  he  kill; 
what  is  his  mode  of  devouring  creatures  ?  Can  tigers 


2OO  Wild  Beasts 


climb?  How  large  are  they?  Will  they  assail  human 
beings  without  provocation,  or  has  the  aspect  of  humanity 
a  restraining  power  over  them  ?  May  they  be  met  with 
casually,  and  at  any  time  ?  Where  are  their  favorite  lairs  ? 
Are  they  brave  or  cowardly,  cunning  or  stupid,  enterpris- 
ing, adaptive,  energetic,  or  the  reverse  ? 

Sanderson  declares  that  the  tiger  never  roars  ;  he  grunts 
according  to  Major  Bevan,  and  the  only  approach  to  roar- 
ing Baldwin  ever  heard,  was  a  hollow,  hoarse,  moaning  cry, 
made  by  holding  his  head  close  to  the  ground.  Inglis  de- 
scribes the  sound  as  like  the  fall  of  earth  into  some  deep 
cavity,  and  Colonel  Davidson  protests  that  the  tiger  barks. 
Pollok,  Leveson,  Shakespear,  and  Rice  assert  that  he  roars 
loudly,  terribly,  magnificently,  tremendously ;  and  D'Ewes 
("  Sporting  in  Both  Hemispheres")  states  that  in  compari- 
son with  the  roar  of  a  tigress  he  encountered  in  the  jungle 
between  Ballary  and  Dharwar,  "  any  similar  sound  he  may 
have  heard,  either  at  the  zoological  gardens  or  elsewhere, 
was  like  a  penny  trumpet  beside  an  ophicleide."  All  these 
names  are  those  of  men  who  hold  the  most  conspicuous 
positions  among  hunters  of  large  game  ;  all  had  killed 
many  tigers  and  often  heard  the  animal's  voice. 

Much  the  same  contradictory  evidence  exists  with  regard 
to  other  things.  Colonel  Pollok  assures  us  that  if  he  trusted 
to  ambushing  game  to  supply  himself  with  food  he  would 
starve  to  death.  Captain  Rice,  a  renowned  slayer  of  tigers, 
lays  down  the  law  to  this  effect,  that  these  brutes  never 
attack  except  from  an  ambush. 

Without  crowding  the  page  with  references,  suffice  it  to 
say  that  both  by  day  and  night,  in  forests,  thickets,  and  open 


The  Tiger  201 


grass  land,  tigers  have  many  times  been  reported  by  equally 
reliable  witnesses  both  to  stalk  their  game,  and  to  spring 
upon  it  from  a  place  of  concealment. 

The  striped  assassin  is  provided  with  a  jaw  and  teeth 
that  enable  him  to  crush  the  large  bones  of  a  buffalo.  He 
can  strike  his  claws,  as  Major  Bevan  saw  him  do,  through 
the  skull  of  an  ox  into  its  brain,  or  break  a  horse's  back 
with  a  blow  of  his  forearm.  How  then  does  he  despatch 
his  victims  ?  Their  necks  are  dislocated,  says  Colonel  Pol- 
lok ;  by  biting  into  them  and  wrenching  round  the  head 
with  his  paws,  explains  Captain  Forsyth.  Not  at  all,  pro- 
tests Baldwin ; — dislocation  is  effected  by  bending  the  head 
backward.  In  neither  way,  Dr.  Jerdon  declares  ;  —  the  ani- 
mal's neck  is  always  broken  by  a  blow.  Sir  Samuel  Baker 
adds  his  testimony  to  the  effect  that  a  tiger  never  strikes, 
and  Sanderson  says  "  the  blow  with  his  paw  is  a  fable." 
Other  authorities  maintain  that  the  cervical  vertebrae  are 
crushed  when  the  beast,  as  it  always  does,  bites  the  back 
of  the  neck ;  and  yet  others  are  sure  that  since  he  never 
seizes  an  animal  in  this  manner,  loss  of  blood  is  the  im- 
mediate cause  of  death,  because  the  great  vessels  are  severed 
when  a  tiger,  as  is  his  invariable  practice,  cuts  into  the 
throat.  Sanderson  states  that  the  blood  is  not  sucked, 
since  a  tiger  could  not  form  the  necessary  vacuum.  In  re- 
sponse to  this  Shakespear  and  Davidson  both  saw  the  blood 
of  animals  that  had  been  tied  up  as  lures  sucked,  and 
Colonel  Campbell,  Captain  Rice,  Major  Leveson,  and  others 
speak  of  this  act  as  having  come  under  their  personal  cog- 
nizance. 

These  animals  have  been  so  generally  credited  with  great 


2O2  Wild  Beasts 


springing  power  that  the  expressions,  "  tiger's  leap,"  and 
"  tiger's  bound,"  have  passed  into  the  colloquial  phrases  of 
more  than  one  language.  Nevertheless,  when  the  experi- 
ences of  eye-witnesses  of  his  performances  in  this  way  are 
referred  to,  nothing  but  contradictions  are  to  be  met  with. 

Sanderson  ("  Thirteen  Years  among  the  Wild  Beasts 
of  India")  thinks  "the  tiger's  powers  of  springing  are  in- 
considerable." Sir  Joseph  Fayrer  ("  The  Royal  Tiger  ") 
says  that  "  it  is  doubtful  whether  a  tiger  ever  bounds  when 
charging,"  and  Inglis  supports  him  in  this  particular.  Cap- 
tain Shakespear  regarded  a  machan  twelve  feet  high  as 
perfectly  secure,  and  Captain  Baldwin  felt  that  he  was  safe 
when  fifteen  feet  above  the  ground.  Moray  Brown  saw  a 
tiger  jump  fourteen  feet  high.  J.  H.  Baldwin  ("  The  Large 
and  Small  Game  of  Bengal ")  reports  a  case  in  which  a 
tiger  leaped  the  stockade  of  a  cattle-pen  "  with  a  large  full- 
grown  ox  in  his  mouth,"  and  Dr.  Fayrer  gives,  in  the 
work  referred  to,  the  only  authentic  story  of  a  tiger's  hav- 
ing taken  a  man  out  of  a  howdah  while  the  elephant  was 
on  his  feet.  Major  G.  A.  R.  Dawson  describes  the  acci- 
dent that  occurred  to  General  Morgan  from  a  wounded 
tigress  that  sprang  across  a  ravine  twenty-five  feet  wide 
and  struck  him  down.  Captain  W.  Rice  ("  Tiger  Shoot- 
ing in  India  ")  measured  the  leap  of  a  tigress  he  shot,  and 
found  it  to  be  "  over  seven  yards." 

Professor  Blyth  and  Dr.  Jerdon  concluded  from  their 
researches  at  the  Calcutta  Museum  and  elsewhere  that 
tigers  could  not  climb.  It  was  certainly  a  very  singular 
conclusion  to  come  to  on  anatomical  grounds ;  but  waiving 
this  point,  we  have  the  statements  of  Inglis  and  Shakes- 


The   Tiger  203 


pear  to  the  fact  that  several  were  shot  in  trees.  It  is  not 
worth  while  to  continue  these  inquiries  as  to  whether  it  is 
possible  to  discover  something  certain  about  tigers  from 
books  ;  on  all  points  connected  with  them  we  should  find 
the  same  discordances. 

Although  Buffon's  extravagances  ("  Histoire  Natu- 
relle ")  about  this  brute's  disposition  need  not  be  seri- 
ously considered, —  such  expressions  as  " sa  ferocite  nest 
comparable  a  rien  "  meaning  nothing,  and  no  creature,  for 
physiological  reasons,  being  capable  of  remaining  in  "a 
perpetual  rage," — enough  is  known  about  the  beast  to 
make  it  doubtful  whether  it  deserves  the  "whitewashing" 
that  some  have  given  its  character.  But  if  it  be  granted  that 
tigers  possess  intelligence,  that  in  many  places  they  have 
become  acquainted  with  the  effects  of  European  firearms, 
and  are  not  at  all  likely  to  mistake  an  Englishman  with  a 
rifle  for  a  Hindu  carrying  a  staff,  many  things  which  seem 
inexplicably  at  variance  will  become  plain.  If  rage  does 
not  overpower  their  discretion,  they  run  away  when  the 
prospect  of  certain  death  stares  them  in  the  face.  What 
do  they  do  when  it  does  not  ?  that  is  the  question  at 
present,  and  the  answer  is  that  they  act  like  tigers.  This 
most  formidable  of  beasts  of  prey  is  not  in  the  least  afraid 
of  a  man  because  he  is  a  man ;  he  does  not  quail  at  his 
glance — that  enrages  him ;  his  voice  will  not  always  startle, 
—  it  often  attracts ;  nor  can  the  scent  of  a  human  being  of 
itself  turn  him  aside  —  on  the  contrary,  it  frequently  guides 
the  beast  to  his  prey.  So  much  for  the  general  view ;  and 
we  may  now  go  into  the  jungle  again  and  discuss  what 
befalls,  in  the  light  of  those  principles  which  have  been 


204  Wild  Beasts 


advanced  elsewhere.  This  will  be  a  durora  against  the 
tigers  of  a  district,  our  hunting-grounds  lie  in  historic 
spots,  and  the  party  is  accompanied  by  elephants,  baggage 
animals,  attendants,  and  all  the  varied  appliances  that 
belong  to  a  raid  of  this  kind  conducted  upon  a  large  scale. 
Close  to  our  camp  lie  the  crumbling  cedghas,  shrines, 
tombs,  and  fortress  palaces  of  a  race  of  princes  now 
extinct,  and  seated  in  a  kiosk  around  whose  crumbling 
walls  half-effaced  Persian  and  Arabic  inscriptions  tell  of 
the  beauty  of  some  girl  whose  bright  eyes  closed  ages 
ago,  and  whose  career  of  ineffectual  passion  finds  a  fit 
emblem  in  the  pishash,  or  transient  dust  column  that 
glides  across  the  plain,  let  us  attempt  to  forecast  the 
events  of  to-morrow.  More  can  be  foretold  than  one 
would  suppose.  The  tiger's  size  and  age,  the  configura- 
tion of  the  ground,  his  previous  habits  of  life,  and  the 
places  where  shade  and  water  are  to  be  found,  will 
certainly  affect  his  movements  after  he  has  been  roused, 
and  when  the  shikaris  come  in  we  shall  know  all 
this.  Here  is  the  head  huntsman  now,  who  comes 
back  from  his  scout  to  make  a  report  to  the  "Cap- 
tain of  the  hunt,"  an  experienced  sportsman  always 
elected  on  such  occasions  to  take  a  general  direction  of 
affairs,  and  manoeuvre  our  elephants  in  the  field.  Mo- 
hammed Kasim  Ali  is  a  typical  figure  and  worth  looking 
at ;  a  small  withered  being  with  a  dingy  turban  wound 
around  his  straggling  elf  locks  ;  dressed  in  a  ragged  shirt 
of  Mhowa  green,  and  lugging  a  matchlock  as  long  as 
himself  loaded  half  way  up  the  barrel.  He  bears  the  big 
bison  horn  of  coarse  slow-burning  native  powder,  and  a 


The  Tiger  205 


small  gazelle-horn  primer.  His  person  is  bedecked  with 
amulets,  and  his  beard,  he  being  an  elderly  man,  is  dyed 
red  —  if  he  were  young,  it  would  be  stained  gray.  But 
despite  this  man's  grotesque  appearance,  he  possesses  a 
profound  knowledge  of  wood-craft,  and  as  a  tracker  and 
interpreter  of  signs,  no  savage  or  white  prodigy  of  the 
wilderness  who  ever  embellished  the  pages  of  a  certain 
style  of  romance  can  surpass  him. 

This  worthy  delivers  himself  somewhat  as  follows : 
"  May  I  be  your  sacrifice  !  Whilst  searching  with  eager- 
ness for  these  sons  of  the  devil,  your  slave  beheld  the 
footprints  of  a  tiger.  Alia  ke  Qoodrut,  it  is  the  power  of 
God ;  then  why  should  your  servant  defile  his  mouth  with 
lies  ?  These  tracks  were  made  by  the  great-grandfather  of 
all  tigers.  The  livers  of  Chinneah  and  Gogooloo  turned 
to  water  at  the  sight,  but  sustained  by  my  Lord's  con- 
descension I  followed  them  to  a  nala,  and  he  was  standing 
by  a  pool.  Karinda  and  tamarisk  bushes  grew  more 
thickly  than  lotus  'flowers  in  Paradise,  but  I  saw  clearly 
that  the  unsainted  beast  was  bigger  than  a  buffalo  bull. 
His  teeth  were  as  iron  rakes,  his  eyes  glared  like  bonfires, 
and  the  spirits  of  those  whom  he  had  devoured  sat  upon 
his  head."  This  with  many  aspirations,  to  the  effect  that 
unquenchable  fire  might  consume  the  souls  of  the  tiger's 
entire  family. 

This  rhodomontade  —  quite  in  keeping,  however,  with 
the  individual  and  his  country  —  means  that  a  large  tiger 
was  seen,  and  will  be  found  for  us  next  day. 

The  one  that  Kasim  Ali,  the  eloquent,  saw  by  the  pool 
was  making  ready  for  his  nightly  excursion  ;  for  although 


206  Wild  Beasts 


they  are  frequently  seen  abroad  by  day,  these  animals  are 
nocturnal  in  habit.  The  writer,  however,  sees  no  reason 
for  repeating  a  remark  which  is  often  made  in  this  con- 
nection, namely,  that  they  are  "  half-blind "  during  day- 
light. There  is  no  rigidity  in  the  iris,  nothing  to  prevent 
the  eye  from  adjusting  itself  to  different  degrees  of  inten- 
sity in  that  medium  by  which  the  retina  is  stimulated.  He 
sees  very  well  at  night,  and  if  sensitive  to  a  strong  light, 
so  are  many  other  animals  whose  vision  is  also  good  when 
it  is  not  dark.  It  is  habitual  with  tigers  to  seek  shade ; 
and  any  eyes,  except  those  of  some  birds,  would  be 
dazzled  by  the  intense  glare  of  an  Indian  sun. 

When  viewed  by  the  shikaris,  he  had  lately  roused  from 
his  rest  as  the  day  declined,  and  the  faint  lowing  of  dis- 
tant herds,  and  far-away  voices  of  Gwallas  bringing  home 
their  cattle  penetrated  to  his  retreat.  He  stretched  his 
lithe  length  and  magnificent  limbs,  his  fierce  eyes  dilated, 
and  a  strange  and  terrible  change  came  over  the  beast. 
Every  attitude  and  motion  betrayed  his  purpose.  But 
although  murder  was  in  his  mind,  and  all  that  he  did  re- 
vealed that  intention,  his  movements  varied,  or  would  do 
so,  with  age  and  experience.  If  the  animal  were  young, 
and  had  been  but  recently  separated  from  the  tigress, 
that  taught  him  to  find  prey,  showed  how  to  attack  it,  and 
encouraged  him-  to  kill  for  the  sake  of  practice,  his  actions 
would  exhibit  all  the  boldness  that  comes  from  entire  self- 
confidence.  He  then  leaves  the  lair  without  precaution, 
and  takes  his  way  through  the  intricacies  of  the  jungle  with 
confidence,  not  pausing  to  examine  every  sign,  as  his  trail 
shows.  If  old,  however,  an  unusual  sound  would  stop  him, 


The  Tiger  207 


a  footprint  in  the  path  that  was  not  there  when  he  last 
passed  would  turn  him  aside.  This  tiger  of  ours  is  not 
aged,  but  has  learned  something  since  he  became  solitary 
like  all  his  kind,  except  in  the  brief  season  of  pairing. 
Experience  may  be  thrown  away  on  men,  but  not  upon 
tigers.  This  one  will  never  again  make  mistakes  such 
as  those  into  which  overboldness  and  want  of  proper 
attention  have  already  betrayed  him.  Once,  shortly 
after  he  began  to  shift  for  himself,  a  buffalo,  of  whom 
he  thought  that  it  could  be  killed  as  easily  as  a  slim 
long-necked  native  cow,  tossed  him.  Another  time  when 
too  hungry  to  wait  for  a  favorable  opportunity,  he  seized 
upon  a  calf  prematurely.  No  sooner  did  his  roar  of  tri- 
umph as  he  struck  it  dead  echo  through  the  jungle,  than 
a  dark  crescentic  line  fringed  with  clashing  horns  con- 
fronted him.  It  came  on  in  quick  irregular  rushes,  and 
no  tiger  could  withstand  such  an  array,  so  he  had  to  fly. 
His  glossy  hide  was  ripped  likewise  by  a  "grim  gray 
tusker,"  which  the  unsophisticated  youth  'designed  to  de- 
spatch without  difficulty.  Before  these  instructive  inci- 
dents occurred  something  more  had  been  learned  also. 

One  morning  the  silence  was  broken  by  blasts  of 
cholera  horns,  the  beating  of  tom-toms,  and  wild  cries 
from  a  multitude  of  men  —  such  men,  however,  as  he 
knew  and  had  frequently  observed  in  the  jungle  and  else- 
where. But  there  was  now  a  man,  mounted  on  an  ele- 
phant, the  like  of  which  he  had  never  seen,  but  whose 
appearance  is  not  forgotten.  He  had  guns  far  worse  than 
matchlocks,  instruments  of  sudden  death  that  killed  his 
mother.  This  formidable  robber,  for  all  his  ferocious 


208  Wild  Beasts 


temper,  great  strength,  and  terrible  means  of  offence,  is 
as  cunning  as  a  fox,  and  wary  to  a  degree  that  closely 
simulates  cowardice.  But  one  might  as  well  call  North 
American  Indians  cowards,  —  which  by  the  way  is  often 
done  by  those  whose  opinions  are  unbiassed  by  any  per- 
sonal acquaintance  with  them,  —  because  they  always  fight 
on  the  principle  of  taking  the  greatest  advantage  and 
least  risk. 

To  start  a  party  such  as  ours  takes  time,  and  of  the 
value  of  time  no  Hindu  has  the  slightest  idea.  The  mob 
of  beaters  are  packed  off  with  strenuous  injunctions  to 
keep  together,  but  they  will  not  do  so.  An  ineradicable 
heedlessness  besets  them,  and  they  are  certain  to  straggle, 
though  the  risk  that  doing  so  entails  is  perfectly  well  un- 
derstood. The  Oriental  says,  "  If  it  is  my  fate  to  perish 
thus,  how  can  I  avoid  the  decree  of  heaven  ?  My  destiny  is 
fixed  ;  it  is  in  the  hands  of  God,  and  may  the  devil  take 
these  infidels  who  talk  as  if  matters  could  be  otherwise 
than  as  they  are." 

Every  crupper,  breast-band,  girth,  and  howdah  cloth 
must  be  looked  to  by  the  hunters  themselves  ;  mahouts 
and  attendants  cannot  be  trusted  to  equip  their  charges, 
and  if  things  were  left  to  them,  an  elephant  would  be  dis- 
abled every  day. 

All  our -proc'eedings  as  we  draw  near  to  the  tiger  require 
to  be  conducted  with  reference  to  the  lie  of  the  land. 
Whether  he  be  beaten  for  with  elephants,  or  roused  by 
the  unearthly  clamor  of  the  crowd  that  has  come  to  drive 
him,  it  is  probable  that  his  first  act  will  be  an  attempt  to 
escape.  He  carries  a  perfect  topographical  chart  of  the 


The   Tiger  209 


neighborhood  in  his  head,  and  an  unguarded  avenue  of 
egress  means  that  we  shall  not  carry  back  his  spoils. 
When  he  does  start,  it  will  not  be  with  the  wild,  affrighted 
rush  of  a  bison  or  sambur  stag  ;  his  retirement,  if  he  is 
not  actually  sighted,  is  made  with  the  deathly  silence  of 
an  elephant  warned  of  danger.  He  makes  use  of  every 
mode  of  concealment,  creeps  from  bush  to  bush,  from  tree 
to  tree,  from  rock  to  rock,  crouching  where  cover  grows 
thin  or  fails,  so  that  the  colors  of  his  coat  assimilate  with 
those  of  the  herbage,  and  he  becomes  well  nigh  invisible 
even  in  places  where  it  seems  utterly  impossible  for  so 
large  an  animal  to  hide  himself.  In  denser  jungle  the 
fugitive  stops  and  stands  with  head  erect  to  listen,  or 
rears  up  amid  long  jowaree  grass,  taking  in  every  sight 
and  sound  that  indicates  the  position  of  his  enemies. 
Thus  his  advance  is  made  towards  the  point  at  which  it  is 
intended  to  break  away  ;  and  if  it  be  necessary  to  cross  bare 
spots,  he  does  so,  not  indeed  with  a  panther's  lightning-like 
rapidity,  but  in  long,  easy  bounds  that  devour  the  distance. 

Under  all  circumstances,  if  the  ground  is  sufficiently 
broken  to  permit  of  it,  the  tiger  keeps  among  ravines,  at 
one  time  traversing  the  crest  of  a  ridge,  at  another  stealing 
along  through  the  underbrush  below.  Then  it  is  that  the 
pad-elephants  and  lookouts  in  trees  come  into  play  in 
order  to  turn  him  in  the  direction  where  the  rifles  are 
stationed  ;  the  former  by  their  presence,  the  latter  by 
softly  striking  small  sticks  together. 

It  is  very  likely,  however,  that  the  surface  may  not 
admit  of  beating  with  men  ;  then  the  sportsmen  advance 
in  their  howdahs,  and  one  may  see  how  a  highly-trained 
shikar  tusker  can  work.  p 


210  Wild  Beasts 


Sir  Samuel  Baker  ("  Wild  Beasts  and  Their  Ways ") 
described  the  qualities  of  a  good  hunting  animal  in  action. 
His  party  were  out  near  Moorwara.  It  was  in  the  dry 
season,  and  they  were  keeping  on  a  line  parallel  with  the 
railroad,  and  about  twenty  miles  from  it.  The  heat  had 
evaporated  tanks,  caused  upland  springs  to  fail,  and  dried 
up  pools  and  watercourses,  so  that  tigers,  that  cannot 
endure  thirst,  were  driven  from  their  accustomed  retreats 
into  places  more  accessible.  On  this  occasion  the  natives 
were  beating  towards  Baker's  elephant,  but  the  beast,  as 
it  sometimes  does,  broke  back  upon  their  line  at  once. 

"  We  were  startled,"  he  continues,  "  by  the  tremendous 
roars  of  this  tiger,  continued  in  quick  succession  within 
fifty  yards  of  the  position  I  then  occupied.  I  never  heard, 
either  before  or  since,  such  a  volume  of  sound  proceed 
from  a  single  animal.  There  was  a  horrible  significance 
in  the  grating  and  angry  voice  that  betokened  extreme 
fury  of  attack.  Not  an  instant  was  lost.  The  mahout 
was  an  excellent  man,  as  cool  as  a  cucumber,  and  never 
over-excited.  He  obeyed  the  order  to  advance  straight 
towards  the  spot  where  the  angry  roars  still  continued 
without  intermission. 

"  Moolah  Box  was  a  thoroughly  dependable  elephant ; 
but  although  moving  forward  with  a  majestic  and  deter- 
mined step,  it  was  in  vain  that  I  endeavored  to  hurry  the 
mahout.  Both  man  and  beast  appeared  to  understand  their 
business  completely,  but  according  to  my  ideas  the  pace 
was  woefully  slow  if  assistance  was  required  in  danger. 

"The  ground  was  slightly  rising,  and  the  jungle  thick 
with  saplings  about  twenty  feet  in  height,  and  as  thick  as 


The  Tiger  211 


a  man's  leg;  these  formed  an  undergrowth  among  the 
larger  forest  trees. 

"  Moolah  Box  crashed  with  his  ponderous  weight 
through  the  resisting  mass,  bearing  down  all  obstacles 
before  him  as  he  steadily  made  his  way  across  the  inter- 
vening growth.  The  roars  had  now  ceased.  There  were 
no  leaves  on  the  trees  at  this  advanced  season,  and  one 
could  see  the  natives  among  the  branches  in  all  directions, 
as  they  perched  for  safety  on  the  limbs  to  which  they 
had  climbed  like  monkeys  at  the  terrible  sounds  of  danger. 
'  Where  is  the  tiger  ? '  I  shouted  to  the  first  man  we  could 
distinguish  in  his  safe  retreat  only  a  few  yards  distant. 
'  Here  !  here  ! '  he  replied,  pointing  immediately  beneath 
him.  Almost  at  the  same  instant,  the  tiger,  which  had 
been  lying  ready  for  attack,  sprang  forward  with  a  loud 
roar  directly  for  Moolah  Box. 

"  There  were  so  many  trees  intervening  that  I  could  not 
fire,  and  the  elephant,  instead  of  halting,  moved  forward, 
meeting  the  tiger  in  his  spring.  With  a  swing  of  his 
huge  head  he  broke  down  several  tall  saplings,  that  crashed 
towards  the  infuriated  tiger  and  checked  his  onset.  Dis- 
comfited for  a  moment,  he  bounded  in  retreat,  and  Moolah 
Box  stood  suddenly  like  a  rock,  without  the  slightest  move- 
ment. This  gave  me  a  splendid  opportunity,  and  the  .577 
bullet  rolled  him  over  like  a  rabbit.  Almost  at  the  same 
instant,  having  performed  a  somersault,  the  tiger  disap- 
peared, and  fell  struggling  among  the  high  grass  and 
bushes  about  fifteen  paces  distant. 

"  I  now  urged  Moolah  Box  carefully  forward  until  I 
could  plainly  see  the  tiger's  shoulders,  and  then  a  second 


212  Wild  Beasts 


shot  through  the  exact  centre  of  the  blade-bone  terminated 
its  existence." 

In  this  attack  four  men  were  wounded,  but  it  is  not 
often  that  a  tiger  charges  home  upon  a  line  of  beaters ; 
generally,  only  stragglers  suffer,  although,  as  has  been 
said,  some  tigers  attack  immediately  upon  being  found. 
Whenever  and  however  the  assault  is  made,  it  must  needs 
be  a  terrible  one,  and  to  most  creatures  at  once  over- 
whelming. Imagine  a  beast  like  this,  so  active,  so  power- 
ful, so  armed,  —  five  hundred  pounds'  weight  of  incarnated 
destructive  energy  launched  by  such  muscles  as  his  against 
an  enemy.  "  It  has  been  the  personification  of  ferocity 
and  unsparing  cruelty,"  says  Sir  Samuel  Baker.  But  it  is 
to  the  terrible  character  of  its  attack,  to  the  fact  that 
this  is  so  frequently  fatal,  and  to  the  awe-inspiring  appear- 
ance of  the  beast  as  it  comes  on  with  dilated  form  and  fire- 
darting  eyes,  that  much  of  its  reputation  for  more  than 
ordinary  ferocity  is  due.  A  tiger  is  beyond  question  the 
most  formidable  of  all  predatory  creatures  when  earnest  in 
his  aggressive  intentions ;  very  frequently,  however,  he  is 
not  so.  False  charges,  made  in  order  to  intimidate,  are 
more  common  than  real  ones.  A  tiger  will  bristle,  and 
snarl,  and  roar,  apparently  with  a  perfect  consciousness  of 
the  additional  impressiveness  given  to  his  general  appear- 
ance in  this  way.  Some  are,  of  course,  braver  than 
others ;  locality  and  their  experience  of  human  power 
make  a  wide  difference  between  those  whose  characters 
have  been  formed  in  separate  areas.  Still  everywhere 
their  temper  is  short  and  fierce,  and  when  roused  to  fury 
they  fight  desperately.  When  we  hear  of  the  abject  cow- 


The   Tiger  213 


ardice  of  these  beasts,  —  how  they  slink  away  from  before 
the  face  of  man  and  cannot  endure  his  look,  how  they  will 
never  assail  him  if  not  provoked,  and  how  they  die  like 
curs  at  last,  —  it  is  natural,  and  a  mere  suggestion  of  com- 
mon sense,  to  think  that  these  are  ex  parte  statements, 
premature  generalizations,  sweeping  conclusions  from 
special  experiences,  and  misinterpretations  of  observations 
that  a  little  diligence  and  proper  intellectual  sincerity 
upon  the  part  of  their  narrators  would  have  shown  to  be 
more  than  counterbalanced  by  facts  of  a  different  com- 
plexion. 

No  two  tigers  are  identical  in  anything,  and  all  the  ele- 
ments of  uncertainty  and  dispute  which  have  been  speci- 
fied make  their  appearance  when  we  come  into  contact 
with  them.  Nobody  knows  or  can  know  what  will  happen 
then.  Silently  like  some  grim  ghost,  the  animal  may  steal 
within  shot,  and  fall  dead  at  the  first  fire.  Sometimes  he 
bursts  from  a  dense  clump  of  bushes  that  the  hunter's 
sight  has  been  unable  to  penetrate,  and  if  hit,  rages  round 
the  tree  from  which  the  ball  came  as  if  mad  ;  or,  if  his 
foes  be  within  reach,  he  kills  or  is  killed.  Occasionally 
when  not  well  watched  by  lookouts,  the  first  intimation 
that  his  domain  has  been  invaded  is  the  signal  for  a  retreat 
to  some  secure  hiding-place,  —  the  pits  and  passages  of  an 
abandoned  mine,  or  a  cave  perhaps,  in  which  latter  case,  if 
it  be  attempted  to  dislodge  him  by  an  indraught  of  smoke 
from  fire  kindled  at  its  mouth,  it  will  be  seen  that  a  tiger 
can  breathe  in  an  atmosphere  such  as  would  seem  to  be  nec- 
essarily fatal  to  any  animal.  Finally,  the  brute  may  break 
back  and  attack  the  beaters,  or  creep  through  their  line, 


214  Wild  Beasts 


or  charge  the  elephants,  and  perish  amid  the  wildest 
display  of  fury  and  desperation.  Finally,  as  it  sometimes, 
though  rarely  happens,  the  first  stir  in  the  jungle  sends 
him  off  by  an  unguarded  path  across  ridges  and  plains  to 
some  distant  lair,  and  the  hunt  for  that  day  is  bootless. 

Tiger-shooting  is  never  without  danger  to  the  sportsman. 
Many  a  man  has  been  clawed  out  of  a  tree  and  killed, 
or  caught  before  he  could  get  out  of  reach.  Elephants 
have  been  pulled  down,  or  the  howdah  ropes  have  broken 
and  precipitated  its  occupants  into  the  tiger's  jaws.  More- 
over, nine  elephants  out  of  ten  are  not  stanch,  they  be- 
come panic-stricken  and  bolt ;  in  which  event  the  risk  of 
being  dashed  to  death  against  a  tree  is  greater  than  that 
of  any  other  fatal  accident  that  is  likely  to  occur. 

Most  accounts  of  tigers  are  confined  to  their  connec- 
tion with  mankind ;  but  if  this  be  the  more  important,  it 
certainly  is  not  the  more  general  relationship.  Out  of  the 
large  number  born  every  year  (though  not  in  the  same 
season,  for  these  animals  pair  irregularly)  few  come  in 
contact  with  human  beings.  They  prey  upon  the  larger 
animals  of  their  respective  provinces,  both  wild  and  do- 
mestic, but,  of  course,  chiefly  upon  the  former.  In  this 
way  they  are  of  positive  benefit  to  the  agricultural  class. 
Baldwin,  Sanderson,  Leveson  and  others,  whose  observa- 
tions made  upon  the  spot,  and  with  the  best  opportunities 
for  knowing  the  truth  in  this  matter,  are  not  likely  to  be 
incorrect,  state  that  but  for  the  aid  rendered  by  tigers  in 
keeping  down  the  numbers  of  grain-eating  species,  the 
Indian  cultivator  would  find  it  almost  impossible  to  live. 
No  doubt  the  same  condition  of  things  prevails  in  other 


The   Tiger  215 


parts  of  Asia.  Cattle-lifters,  however,  impose  a  heavy  tax 
on  the  country,  and  as  these  generally  grow  fat,  lazy,  and 
rarely  hunt,  they  are  a  decided  disadvantage  to  any  neigh- 
borhood. Furthermore,  it  is  from  among  this  class  that 
most  man-eaters  come.  In  districts  to  which  cattle  are 
driven  to  graze,  and  then  withdrawn  when  the  grass  fails, 
tigers  accustomed  to  haunt  the  vicinity  of  herds,  and  that 
have  remained  for  the  most  part  guiltless  of  human  blood 
so  long  as  their  supply  of  beef  lasted,  are  apt  to  eat 
the  inhabitants  when  it  fails.  One  of  these  marauders 
upon  livestock  will  kill  an  ox  every  five  days,  and 
smaller  domestic  animals  proportionately  often,  and  it  is 
easy  to  see  that  the  cost  of  supporting  them  must  be 
very  considerable. 

So  much  has  been  said  in  connection  with  other  beasts 
of  prey  upon  the  subject  of  those  reports  in  which  each 
group  is  represented  to  have  an  invariable  way  of  captur- 
ing and  killing  game,  that  it  seems  unnecessary  to  enlarge 
upon  this  point  with  reference  to  tigers.  They  stalk  ani- 
mals, and  spring  upon  them  from  an  ambush.  When  a 
victim  has  been  caught,  it  is  destroyed  by  a  blow  with  the 
arm,  its  neck  vertebrae  are  crushed  by  a  bite,  its  throat 
is  cut,  or  head  wrenched  round.  Very  probably  the  tiger 
does  not  strike  habitually  like  a  lion.  He  often  does  so, 
however,  and  the  fact  that  one  was  seen  to  drive  his  claws 
into  the  brain  of  an  ox  has  been  mentioned.  Sir  Joseph 
Fayrer  reports  the  case  of  a  tiger  that  dashed  into  a  herd, 
"  and  in  his  spring  struck  down  simultaneously  a  cow  with 
each  fore  foot."  Major  H.  A.  Leveson  ("  Hunting  Grounds 
of  the  Old  World  ")  saw  one  of  his  men  killed  in  the  Anna- 


216  Wild  Beasts 


mullay  forest  in  this  manner.  "  His  death,"  says  Leve- 
son,  "must  have  been  instantaneous,  as  the  tigress  with 
the  first  blow  of  her  paw  crushed  his  skull,  and  his  brains 
were  scattered  about." 

"  I  venture  to  assert,"  says  Colonel  Gordon  Gumming 
("  Wild  Men  and  Wild  Beasts  "),  "  that  one  of  the  chief 
characteristics  of  the  tiger  is,  that  in  its  wild  state,  it  will 
only  feed  on  prey  of  its  own  killing."  No  other  name  of 
equal  weight  has  been  appended  to  a  statement  such  as 
this.  On  the  contrary,  nearly  all  evidence  goes  to  show 
that  tigers  are  very  indiscriminate  in  their  eating,  that 
they  feed  on  almost  anything,  living  or  dead,  fresh 
or  putrid.  Captain  Walter  Campbell  ("The  Old  Forest 
Ranger")  mentions  the  fact  of  their  appropriating  game 
already  killed  as  coming  under  his  personal  observation  ; 
and  Major  Leveson  ("  Sport  in  Many  Lands  ")  records  that 
he  shot  two  tigers  in  the  Wynaad  forest  while  they  were 
engaged  in  a  desperate  fight  for  the  possession  of  a  deer's 
carcass.  It  is  notorious  that  tigers  so  constantly  destroy 
their  cubs  that  the  tigress  leaves  her  mate  almost  immedi- 
ately after  they  are  born,  and  conceals  her  young.  There 
are  several  instances  in  which  she  herself  has  been 
devoured,  and  there  is  no  doubt  of  the  cannibalism  of  this 
beast.  J.  Moray  Brown  ("  Shikar  Sketches  "),  speaking  of 
the  frequency  of  combats  between  tigers,  says  that,  "  occa- 
sionally the  victor  eats  the  vanquished."  Colonel  Pollok 
("  Sport  in  British  Burmah  ")  informs  us  that  "  when  two 
tigers  contend  for  the  right  of  slaughtering  cattle  in  any 
particular  locality,  one  is  almost  sure  to  be  killed,  and, 
perhaps,  eaten  by  the  other.  I  have  known  instances  of 


The  Tiger  217 


this  happening."  General  W.  C.  Andersson  shot  a  tiger 
in  Kandeish,  within  whose  body  he  found  the  recently 
ingested  remains  of  another,  whose  head  and  paws  were 
lying  close  by  in  the  jungle.  General  Blake  also  discov- 
ered, near  Rungiah  in  Assam,  the  partially  devoured 
body  of  a  tiger  that  had  been  killed  by  one  of  its  own 
kind. 

Except  incidentally,  technical  details  bearing  upon 
character  have  not  been  mentioned  ;  the  tiger's  size,  how- 
ever, has  no  doubt  a  marked  influence  upon  his  mental 
traits.  Looking  upon  a  trail  that  goes  straight  towards 
the  water,  which  other  creatures  approach  so  differently, 
one  sees  how  the  animal  that  left  those  footprints  —  nearly 
square  in  the  male,  oval  in  case  of  a  tigress  —  felt  no  fear 
of  any  adversary,  and  therefore  must  have  been  of  con- 
siderable bulk.  Not  only  the  best  authorities',  so  far  as 
formal  zoology  is  concerned,  but  almost  every  one  who  has 
devoted  special  attention  to  this  subject,  gives  the  length 
of  an  average  tiger,  when  fully  developed,  at  about  nine 
feet  six  inches  from  tip  to  tip.  The  female  is  quite  twelve 
inches  shorter.  Many  writers,  however,  admit  the  existence 
of  tigers  ten  feet  long,  and  no  one  is  in  a  position  to  deny 
that  some  may  attain  to  that  length.  But  when  a  writer 
like  Sir  Joseph  Fayrer  ("  The  Royal  Tiger  of  Bengal  ")  says 
that  he  has  "measured  their  bodies  as  they  lay 'dead  on  the 
spot  where  they  had  fallen,"  and  found  them  to  be  "  more 
than  eleven  feet  from  the  nose  to  the  end  of  the  tail," 
there  is  nothing  to  be  replied,  except  that,  very  few 
persons  have  been  so  fortunate  as  to  see  the  like.  There 
was  once,  indeed,  a  tiger-slayer  who  used  to  shoot  speci- 


218  Wild  Beasts 


mens  fourteen  feet  long  and  over,  but  he  died  gallantly 
in  battle,  and  his  name  need  not  be  given. 

With  regard  to  the  structure  of  his  brain,  the  tiger  is 
gyrencephalous  ;  that  is  to  say,  the  lobes  exhibit  a  certain 
degree  of  convolution.  It  may  also  be  said  that  the 
cerebral  hemispheres  project  backwards  so  as  to  cover  the 
anterior  border  of  the  cerebellum,  and  that  these  greater 
segments  of  the  encephalon  are  completely  connected. 
The  nervous  structure  is  not  of  the  highest  type  known 
to  exist  among  inferior  animals,  but  it  is  quite  high 
enough  not  to  militate  against  an  empirical  conclusion 
that  this  creature's  actions  show  it  to  be  organically  very 
capable. 

Of  the  details  of  the  every-day  life  of  the  tiger  we 
know  comparatively  little.  Thousands  of  cattle,  for  in- 
stance, are  killed  every  year  in  India,  and  yet  there  is 
but  one  narrative,  so  far  as  the  writer  knows,  of  a  tiger 
having  been  seen  to  stalk  a  quadruped  of  this  kind.  It 
is  quoted  by  J.  Moray  Brown  ("  Shikar  Sketches  ")  from 
Captain  Pierson's  relation  of  the  incident.  While  hunting 
in  the  jungles  of  Kamptee,  he  saw  from  the  edge  of  a  ravine 
on  which  he  was  resting,  a  herd  grazing  on  the  ground  just 
below,  and  a  tigress  at  a  little  distance  reconnoitering. 
Her  choice  fell  in  the  first  place  upon  a  white  cow  that  was 
straggling,  and  she  approached  till  within  about  eighty 
yards  under  cover  of  the  bushes,  and  then  broke  into  a  trot. 
The  cow,  however,  became  aware  of  her  danger,  and  after 
standing  a  moment  as  if  paralyzed  with  fear,  dashed  into 
the  midst  of  her  companions.  The  tigress,  which  during 
this  time  had  continued  to  advance,  then  charged  at  once, 


The   Tiger  219 


and  "in  a  few  seconds  she  picked  out  a  fine  young  cow, 
upon  whose  shoulders  she  sprang,  and  they  both  rolled 
over  in  a  heap.  When  the  two  animals  were  still  again, 
we  could  distinctly  see  the  cow  standing  up  with  her  neck 
embraced  by  the  tigress,  which  was  evidently  sucking  her 
jugular.  The  poor  creature  then  made  a  few  feeble  efforts 
to  release  herself,  which  the  tigress  resented  by  breaking 
her  neck."  Major  H.  Bevan  ("Thirty  Years  in  India") 
saw  a  tiger  "  knock  over  a  bullock  with  a  single  blow  on 
the  haunch,  and  seizing  the  throat,  lay  across  the  body 
sucking  the  blood."  Major  Leveson  ("  Hunting  Grounds 
of  the  Old  World  "),  while  lying  out  by  a  pool  at  night, 
witnessed  the  death  of  a  sambur  deer  that  was  struck  down 
and  instantly  killed  by  a  tiger.  Various  narratives  of  the 
tiger's  attack  might  be  quoted,  but  his  behavior  while  steal- 
ing upon  his  prey,  the  manner  in  which  he  seeks  for  it, 
and  the  way  in  which  it  is  discovered,  these  are  points 
that  we  know  very  little  about. 

"  The  tiger  is  a  shy,  morose,  and  unsociable  brute," 
Dr.  Fayrer  remarks,  "  but  like  all  animals  of  high  type, 
the  range  of  individual  differences  is  very  great."  "  Nearly 
every  tiger,"  observes  Moray  Brown,  "has  a  certain  char- 
acter for  ferocity,  wiliness  or  the  reverse  —  of  being  a 
man-eater,  cattle-lifter,  or  game-killer — which  is  well 
known  to  the  jungle  folk." 

The  tiger's  overlordship  of  the  jungle  is  not  maintained 
without  some  reverses.  A  bear  sometimes  beats  him  off, 
but  usually  these  contests  end  in  the  bear's  being  devoured. 
Sanderson,  together  with  others,  reports  this  upon  per- 
sonal observation.  Wild  boars  occasionally  avenge  the 


220  Wild  Beasts 


death  of  their  fellows.  Inglis  found  the  bodies  of  both 
combatants  lying  side  by  side. 

Single  buffaloes  are  killed  by  a  tiger ;  but  when  a  herd 
is  combined  against  him,  as  is  always  the  case  when  his 
presence  is  discovered,  he  has  no  chance  of  success. 
Inglis  ("Work  and  Sport  on  the  Nepaul  Frontier") 
describes  such  an  event,  and  as  it  is  the  only  narrative 
of  this  kind  the  author  has  met  with,  his  account  is  given 
in  full. 

"  One  of  the  most  exciting  and  deeply  interesting 
scenes  I  ever  witnessed  in  the  jungles  .  .  .  took  place 
in  the  month  of  March,  at  the  village  of  Ryseree,  in 
Bhaugulpore. 

"  I  was  sitting  in  my  tent  going  over  some  accounts 
with  the  village  putwarrie  and  my  gomasta.  A  posse  of 
villagers  were  grouped  under  the  grateful  shade  of  a 
gnarled  old  mango  tree,  whose  contorted  limbs  bore 
witness  to  many  a  tufan  and  tempest  which  it  had 
weathered.  The  usual  confused  clamor  of  tongues  was 
rising  up  from  this  group,  and  the  subject  of  debate  was 
the  eternal  'pice*  [small  coins]. 

"A  number  of  horses  were  picketed  in  the  shade,  and 
behind  the  horses,  each  manacled  by  weighty  chains,  with 
their  ponderous  trunks  and  ragged-looking  tails  swaying 
to  and  fro  with  a  never-ceasing  motion,  stood  a  line  of  ten 
elephants.  Their  huge  leathery  ears  flapped  lazily,  and 
ever  and  anon  one  would  seize  a  branch,  and  belabor  his 
corrugated  sides  to  free  himself  from  the  detested  and 
troublesome  flies. 

"  Suddenly  there  was  a  hush.     Every  sound  seemed  to 


The  Tiger  221 


stop  simultaneously  as  by  prearranged  concert.  Then 
three  men  were  seen  rushing  madly  along  the  elevated 
ridge  surrounding  one  of  the  tanks.  I  recognized  one  of 
my  peons,  and  with  him  there  were  two  cowherds.  Their 
head-dresses  were  all  disarranged,  and  their  parted  lips, 
heaving  chests,  and  eyes  blazing  with  excitement,  showed 
that  they  were  brimful  of  some  unusual  message. 

"Now  there  arose  such  a  bustle  in  the  camp  as  no 
description  could  adequately  portray.  The  elephants 
trumpeted  and  piped ;  the  syces  and  grooms  came  push- 
ing up  with  eager  questions ;  the  villagers  bustled  about 
like  so  many  ants  roused  by  the  approach  of  a  foe ;  my 
pack  of  terriers  yelped  in  chorus ;  the  pony  neighed ;  the 
Cabool  stallion  plunged  about ;  my  servants  rushed  from 
the  shelter  of  the  tent-veranda  with  disordered  dress ;  the 
ducks  rose  in  a  quacking  crowd,  and  circled  round  and 
round  the  tent ;  and  the  cry  arose  of  '  Bagh !  Bagh ! 
Khodawund !  Arree  Bap  re  Bap!  Ram  Ram,  Seeta 
Ram  ! ' 

"  Breathless  with  running,  the  men  now  tumbled  up  and 
hurriedly  salaamed ;  then  each  with  gasps  and  choking 
stops,  and  pell-mell  volubility,  and  amid  a  running  fire  of 
cries,  queries,  and  interjections  from  the  mob,  began  to 
unfold  their  tale.  There  was  an  infuriated  tigress  on  the 
other  side  of  the  nullah,  or  dry  watercourse,  and  she  had 
attacked  a  herd  of  buffaloes,  and  it  was  believed  she  had 
cubs. 

"  Already  Debnarain  Singh  was  getting  his  own  pad- 
elephant  caparisoned,  and  my  bearer  was  diving  under  my 
camp  bed  for  the  rifles  and  cartridges.  Knowing  the 


222  Wild  Beasts 

little  elephant  to  be  a  fast  walker,  and  fairly  stanch,  I  got 
upon  her  back,  and  accompanied  by  the  gomasta  and 
mahout  we  set  out,  followed  by  the  peon  and  herdsmen 
to  show  us  the  way. 

"I  expected  two  friends,  officers  from  Calcutta,  that 
very  day,  and  wished  not  to  kill  the  tigress,  but  to  keep 
her  for  our  combined  shooting  next  day.  We  had  not 
proceeded  far,  when  on  the  other  side  of  the  nullah  we 
saw  dense  clouds  of  dust  rising,  and  heard  a  confused 
rushing,  trampling  sound,  intermingled  with  the  clashing 
of  horns,  and  the  snorting  of  a  herd  of  angry  buffaloes. 

"  It  was  the  wildest  sight  I  have  ever  seen  in  connection 
with  animal  life.  The  buffaloes  were  drawn  together  in 
the  form  of  a  crescent ;  their  eyes  glared  fiercely,  and  as 
they  advanced  in  a  series  of  short  runs,  stamping  with 
their  hoofs,  and  angrily  lashing  their  tails,  their  horns 
would  come  together  with  a  clanging,  clattering  crash, 
and  they  would  paw  the  sand,  snort,  and  toss  their  heads, 
and  behave  in  the  most  extraordinary  manner. 

"The  cause  of  all  this  commotion  was  not  far  to  seek. 
Directly  in  front,  retreating  slowly,  with  stealthy,  crawling, 
prowling  steps,  and  an  occasional  short,  quick  leap  or 
bound  to  one  or  the  other  side,  was  a  magnificent  tigress, 
looking  the  very  impersonification  of  baffled  fury.  Ever 
and  anon  she  crouched  down  to  the  earth,  tore  it  up  with 
her  claws,  lashed  her  tail  from  side  to  side,  and  with  lips 
retracted,  long  mustaches  quivering  with  wrath,  and  hate- 
ful eyes  scintillating  with  rage  and  fury,  she  seemed  to 
meditate  an  attack  upon  the  angry  buffaloes.  The  serried 
array  of  clashing  horns,  and  the  ponderous  bulk  of  the 


The  Tiger  223 


herd  appeared,  however,  to  daunt  the  snarling  vixen ;  at 
their  rush  she  would  bound  back  a  few  paces,  crouch  down, 
growl,  and  be  forced  to  move  back  again,  before  the  short, 
blundering  charge  of  the  crowd. 

"  All  the  old  cows  and  calves  were  in  rear  of  the  herd, 
and  it  was  not  a  little  comical  to  witness  their  awkward 
attitudes.  They  would  stretch  their  ungainly  necks,  and 
shake  their  heads  as  if  they  did  not  rightly  understand 
what  was  going  on.  Finding  that  if  they  stopped  too  long 
to  indulge  their  curiosity,  there  was  danger  of  getting  sep- 
arated from  the  fighting  members  of  the  herd,  they  would 
make  a  stupid,  lumbering,  headlong  rush  forward,  and  jostle 
each  other  in  their  blundering  panic. 

"  It  was  a  grand  sight.  The  tigress  was  the  embodiment 
of  lithe  savage  beauty,  but  her  features  expressed  the  wild- 
est baffled  rage.  I  could  have  shot  the  striped  vixen  over 
and  over  again,  but  I  wished  to  keep  her  for  my  friends ; 
and  I  was  thrilled  by  the  excitement  of  such  a  novel 
scene. 

"Suddenly  our  elephant  trumpeted,  and  shied  quickly 
on  one  side  from  something  lying  on  the  ground.  Curling 
up  its  trunk  it  began  backing  and  piping  at  a  prodigious 
rate. 

"  '  Hallo  !  what's  the  matter  now  ? '  said  I  to  Debnarain. 

"  '  God  only  knows/  said  he. 

"'A  young  tiger!  Bagh  ta  butchaj  screamed  our 
mahout,  and  regardless  of  the  elephant  or  our  cries,  he 
scuttled  down  the  pad  rope  like  a  monkey  down  a  back- 
stay, and  clutching  a  young  dead  tiger  cub,  threw  it  up  to 
Debnarain.  It  was  about  the  size  of  a  small  poodle,  and 


224  Wild  Beasts 


had  evidently  been  trampled  by  the  pursuing  herd  of  buf- 
faloes. 

" '  There  may  be  others,'  said  the  gomasta,  and  peering 
into  every  bush,  we  went  slowly  on.  My  elephant  then 
showed  decided  symptoms  of  dislike  and  reluctance  to 
approach  a  particular  dense  clump  of  grass. 

"A  sounding  whack  on  the  head,  however,  made  her 
quicken  her  steps,  and  thrusting  the  long  stalks  aside,  she 
discovered  for  us  three  blinking  little  cubs,  brothers  of  the 
defunct,  and  doubtless  part  of  the  same  litter.  Their  eyes 
were  scarcely  open,  and  they  lay  huddled  together  like 
three  enormous  striped  kittens,  and  spat  at  us,  and  bristled 
their  little  mustaches  much  as  an  angry  cat  would  do.  All 
four  were  males. 

"  It  was  not  long  before  I  had  them  wrapped  up  carefully 
in  the  mahout's  blanket.  Overjoyed  at  our  good  fortune, 
we  left  the  excited  herd  still  executing  their  singular  war- 
dance,  and  the  enraged  tigress,  robbed  of  her  whelps,  con- 
suming her  soul  in  baffled  fury. 

"  We  heard  her  roaring  through  the  night  close  to  camp, 
and  on  my  friends'  arrival,  we  beat  her  up  next  morning, 
and  she  fell,  pierced  by  three  balls,  in  a  fierce  and  deter- 
mined charge.  We  came  upon  her  across  the  nullah,  and 
her  mind  was  evidently  made  up  to  fight." 

A  tiger  may  fail  in  front  of  a  herd,  but  with  stragglers, 
and  there  are  always  such,  the  case  is  not  the  same.  He 
can  kill  individual  buffaloes,  or  he  would  not  be  there,  and 
this  is  done  so  quietly  and  expeditiously  that  very  often 
the  act  remains  for  a  time  undiscovered.  His  "fore-paw," 
observes  Inglis,  "is  a  most  formidable  weapon  of  attack. 


The  Tiger  225 


.  .  .  One  blow  is  generally  sufficient  to  slay  the  largest 
bullock  or  buffalo."  Then  he  reports  how  a  tiger,  charging 
through  the  skirts  of  a  herd,  "  broke  the  backs  of  two  of 
these  animals,  .  .  .  giving  each  a  stroke,  right  and  left,  as 
he  passed  along."  Now  it  is  certain  that  an  Asiatic  buf- 
falo is  quite  as  large  and  formidable  an  animal  as  the  bison  ; 
and  it  may  naturally  be  inferred  from  this,  that  most  of 
these  latter  fare  differently  from  the  one  Leveson  and 
Burton  saw  fighting  at  the  Nedeniallah  Hills. 

Having  thus  secured  a  supply  of  beef,  the  tiger  usually 
withdraws  and  waits  for  night  to  make  his  meal.  But  if 
he  were  alone  with  his  victim,  if  there  were  no  danger  of 
being  winded  and  attacked  by  its  companions,  he  would 
act  differently,  and  might  eat  at  once.  Inglis  does  not  tell 
how  he  became  acquainted  with  the  following  details,  but 
he  states  that  as  soon  as  his  prey  is  struck  down,  the  tiger 
"fastens  on  the  throat  of  the  animal  he  has  felled,  and 
invariably  tries  to  tear  open  the  jugular  vein."  This  he 
does  instinctively,  because  he  knows  intuitively  that  "  this 
is  the  most  deadly  spot  in  the  whole  body."  But  the 
tiger's  intuitions  and  Inglis's  knowledge  are  both  at  fault 
in  this  particular.  "  When  he  has  got  hold  of  his  victim 
by  the  throat,  he  lies  down,  holding  on  to  the  bleeding  car- 
cass, snarling  and  growling,  and  fastening  and  unfastening 
his  talons."  In  some  instances,  continues  this  writer,  he 
may  drink  the  blood,  "  but  in  many  cases  I  know  from  my 
own  observation  that  the  blood  is  not  drunk."  After  life 
is  extinct,  these  brutes  "  walk  round  the  prostrate  carcasses 
of  their  victims,  growling  and  spitting  like  tabby  cats."  If 
they  wish  to  eat  then,  the  body  is  neatly  disembowelled, 
Q 


226  Wild  Beasts 


and  the  meal  begins  on  the  haunch.  A  panther  or  leopard 
would  commonly  commence  with  the  inner  part  of  the 
thighs,  "a  wolf  tears  open  the  belly  and  eats  the  intestines 
first,"  and  a  hawk,  and  other  birds  of  prey,  pick  out  the 
eyes ;  but  a  tiger  follows  the  course  described,  as  a  rule, 
and  after  having  bolted  —  for  he  never  chews  his  food  —  as 
much  as  he  can  hold,  the  remainder  is  dragged  off  and 
concealed,  or  at  least  this  is  the  intention,  though  his  de- 
sign is  always  very  imperfectly  executed. 

Colonel  Barras,  while  waiting  for  a  tiger  driven  by  beaters, 
saw  the  beast  break  back  upon  their  line,  as  these  animals 
are  apt  to  do,  and  with  evil  consequences,  seeing  that  no 
power  can  keep  Hindus  together. 

"  I  saw  him  rise  up  on  his  hind  legs  and  take  the  head 
of  one  of  them  in  his  mouth.  In  an  instant  he  dropped 
his  victim,  and  made  short  pounces  at  the  others,  who  (as 
may  be  supposed)  were  flying  wildly  in  all  directions. 
Numbers  of  them  left  the  long  cloths  they  wear  round 
their  heads  sticking  to  the  thorny  bushes.  These,  it 
seemed  to  me,  the  tiger  mistook  for  some  snare,  as  he  sud- 
denly turned  and  bounded  away  at  tremendous  speed 
under  the  very  tree  I  was  in.  Owing  to  the  great  pace 
he  was  going  I  missed  him.  I  have  since  seen  others 
miss  under  the  same  circumstances,  but  at  the  time  I  felt 
my  position  keenly,  being  under  the  impression  that  other 
persons  invariably  dropped  their  tigers  whenever  and 
wherever  they  might  get  a  glimpse  of  them. 

"  It  only  remained  now  to  follow  up  the  brute  with  ele- 
phants. Owing  to  the  fierceness  of  the  sun,  he  would  not 
be  likely  to  travel  far,  or  make  many  moves.  After  track- 


The  Tiger  227 


ing  for  about  an  hour,  he  did  turn  out  in  front  of  one  of 
the  elephants,  and  was  fired  at  by  the  people  in  the  how- 
dah,  with  what  success  I  do  not  remember.  For  a  moment 
he  pulled  himself  up,  and  seemed  about  to  charge,  but 
thought  better  of  it,  and  was  soon  out  of  sight  again.  We 
followed  him  for  some  hours  along  the  rocky  banks  of  the 
river,  visiting  all  the  most  likely  nooks  and  corners,  in 
hopes  that  he  might  find  it  impossible  to  travel  any  fur- 
ther over  the  burning  rocks.  Towards  evening  he  was 
descried  at  the  distance  of  a  quarter  of  a  mile,  swimming 
across  a  deep  pool  that  led  into  an  extensive  piece  of  for- 
est. Here  we  deemed  it  advisable  to  leave  him  for  the 
night,  and  organize  a  fresh  plan  for  the  morrow.  Accord- 
ingly the  next  morning  a  beat  was  commenced  from  the 
opposite  side  of  the  wood,  which  proved  successful.  The 
tiger  broke  readily  and  was  shot  by  one  of  the  party.  It 
was  a  very  fine  male,  in  the  prime  of  life.  At  first  I  won- 
dered why  it  was  so  certainly  admitted  to  be  the  tiger 
of  the  day  before.  On  asking  the  question,  his  feet  were 
pointed  out  to  me.  They  were  completely  raw  with  his 
long  ramble  over  the  burning  rocks.  It  is  not  improbable 
that  had  he  been  only  slightly  driven,  he  would  have 
travelled  miles  away  during  the  night,  and  we  might  have 
lost  him." 

As  for  the  wounded  man,  whose  skull,  strange  to  say, 
had  not  been  crushed,  he  was  carefully  attended  to  and 
well  rewarded  for  his  sufferings. 

"An  occasional  accident  of  this  sort  should  not  be 
looked  upon  as  a  proof  of  the  brutal  indifference  of  the 
English  in  India  to  the  lives  of  the  suffering  natives  — 


228  Wild  Beasts 


quite  the  contrary.  The  natives,  except  under  European 
leadership,  will  not  go  out  against  dangerous  animals. 
Bapoo  says,  '  My  cow  is  not  killed,  and  besides  I  have  ob- 
tained a  charm  from  a  holy  man,  by  which  she  is  made 
safe  against  tigers.  Why  should  /  go  out  ? '  On  the  other 
hand,  Luximon  says,  '  My  cow  is  killed  ;  I  shall  certainly 
not  go.' '  In  consequence  of  these  reasonings,  they  and 
their  cattle  continue  to  be  eaten.  As  Barras  says,  "  The 
result  is  that  the  tigers  get  the  better  of  the  natives,  and 
kill  so  many  of  them  and  their  cattle,  that  I  have  seen 
many  ruined  villages,  which  have  been  abandoned  owing 
to  the  neighborhood  of  these  animals.  It  is,  therefore,  a 
very  good  thing  for  the  inhabitants  when  a  well-appointed 
shooting  party  arrives. 

"  One  of  the  most  curious  features  of  tiger-shooting  is 
the  extraordinary  tenacity  with  which  both  the  Europeans 
and  natives  engaged  in  the  sport  adhere  to  certain  tradi- 
tions. In  vain  does  a  tiger  break  through  all  established 
rules  before  the  very  eyes  of  those  engaged  ;  the  shikaris, 
both  white  and  black,  continue  as  firm  as  ever  in  their 
articles  of  faith,  and,  by  their  blind  belief  in  the  same, 
often  lose  a  tiger.  I  propose,  therefore,  to  mention  a  few 
of  the  most  cherished  laws,  and  to  show  in  the  following 
pages  that  they  are  in  every  instance  fallacies. 

"  (i)  A  tiger  never  charges  unless  wounded,  or  in  de- 
fence of  its  young  cubs. 

"  (2)  It  never  lies  up  for  the  day  in  hot  weather  in  a 
jungle  where  there  is  no  water. 

"  (3)  It  never  looks  upward  so  as  to  see  any  one  in  a 
tree. 


The  Tiger  229 


"  I  have  already  given  one  instance  of  an  un wounded 
tiger  charging  and  nearly  killing  a  beater,  and  I  now  pro- 
pose to  show  how  another  was  unprincipled  enough  to 
break  two  of  the  three  rules  at  the  same  time. 

"A  few  days  after  the  events  narrated  in  the  preceding 
chapter,  I  and  the  four  others  comprising  our  party  were 
duly  posted  across  a  wide  nullah  (dry  watercourse).  Gibbon 
was  told  off  for  a  tree  growing  on  the  top  of  the  bank.  The 
fork  into  which  he  climbed  must  have  been  quite  twelve 
feet  from  the  ground,  so  that  as  I  sat  in  my  bush  in 
the  bed  of  the  nullah  he  appeared  almost  in  another 
world.  As  soon  as  we  were  all  settled  the  beat  began. 
Our  band  on  this  occasion  was  unusually  good.  It  pro- 
duced a  loud  and  piercing  discord. 

"  Almost  immediately  was  heard  the  sound  as  of  a  horse 
galloping  down  the  stony  bed  of  the  nullah.  It  was  a 
tigress  charging  at  full  speed.  Like  a  flash  of  lightning 
she  had  cleared  all  obstacles,  and  was  in  the  first  fork  of 
Gibbon's  tree  eight  feet  from  the  ground,  and  perpendic- 
ular to  it.  Gibbon  fired  down  upon  her,  and  she  fell  to 
the  earth  with  her  jaw  broken,  but  instantly  charged  again 
to  the  same  spot,  when  another  sportsman  hit  her  with  an 
Express  bullet  in  the  back,  making  a  fearful  wound. 

"The  pursuit  on  elephants  now  commenced.  There 
were  three  of  them,  and  each  had  a  line  of  his  own  to 
investigate.  One  called  Bahadur  Guj  was  much  the 
stanchest,  and  knew  what  it  was  to  be  clawed. 

"  Just  as  this  elephant  was  passing  a  thick  spot,  the 
wounded  tigress  sprang  on  his  head.  There  was  a  brief 
but  exciting  struggle.  Bahadur  Guj  got  his  enemy  down, 


230  Wild  Beasts 


trampled  it  to  death,  and  then  flung  its  body  up  on  to  the 
bank  of  the  nullah.  .  .  .  Fortunately  for  the  elephant, 
the  tiger's  jaw  was  broken,  so  that  he  received  no  injuries 
worth  mentioning. 

"The  following  incidents  will  show,  I  think,  what  a 
mistake  it  is  to  suppose  that  tigers  are  never  found  except 
in  the  near  neighborhood  of  water  during  the  hot  months 
of  the  year.  Whilst  out  with  a  party  of  four,  in  the 
middle  of  May,  we  beat  unsuccessfully  for  a  fine  tigress 
that  had  killed  a  cow  during  the  previous  night.  The 
beat  was  properly  conducted,  but  no  beast  of  prey  ap- 
peared. A  mile  or  two  distant  there  was  a  very  fine 
jungle,  but  it  was  decided  that  as  there  was  no  water, 
there  could  be  no  tiger  in  it.  We  therefore  thought  it  a 
good  opportunity  to  organize  a  beat  on  behalf  of  our 
native  shikaris,  in  order  that  they  might  slay  for  them- 
selves deer,  pig,  and  such  like  animals  for  their  own 
eating. 

"Accordingly,  we  repaired  to  the  desired  locality,  and 
scattered  ourselves  about  without  taking  any  of  the  usual 
precautions.  Some  of  us  helped  in  the  beat,  and  some 
of  the  beaters  converted  themselves  into  shooters,  and 
took  up  such  positions  as  seemed  good  to  them.  Things 
were  proceeding  very  pleasantly,  when  suddenly  a  shot 
was  fired  by  one  of  the  natives,  and  word  was  rapidly 
passed  that  he  had  aimed  at  a  tiger,  which  had  not  fallen, 
but  gone  on  up  a  ravine  towards  the  head  of  the  jungle. 
No  blood  marks  were  found,  and  the  bullet  was  held  to 
have  missed.  This  was  ultimately  found  to  be  true.  But 
at  the  moment  I  doubted  it,  for  the  man  was  an  excellent 


The  Tiger  231 


shot,  and  the  tiger  had  come  out  slowly  just  in  front  of 
him.  ...  At  all  events,  the  tiger  was  gone,  and  I  and 
my  friend  had  to  do  our  best  to  find  him.  The  elephant 
Bahadur  Guj  was  called  up,  and  I  and  my  companion  stood 
up  in  front  of  the  howdah,  while  the  native  who  had  first 
fired  at  the  animal  occupied  a  back  seat  with  his  little 
son. 

"For  a  long  time  our  search  was  fruitless.  We 
worked  up  to  the  head  of  the  jungle  without  finding  a 
vestige  of  the  enemy.  On  our  way  back  my  coadjutor 
pointed  to  a  thick  corinda  bush  and  said,  '  That  is  a  likely 
spot.'  I  looked,  and  there  was  the  tiger,  or  rather  tigress, 
standing  in  the  centre  of  it.  We  fired  together.  There 
was  a  roar,  a  scuffle,  and  a  dense  cloud  of  smoke,  under 
cover  of  which  the  tigress  disappeared,  having  only  been 
seen  by  the  small  boy  in  the  back  seat.  The  cover  con- 
sisted entirely  of  detached  bushes,  so  we  felt  sure  she 
could  not  have  gone  far.  At  last  we  discovered  a  black 
hole  flush  with  the  ground.  This  we  approached  cau- 
tiously, and  on  peering  down  saw  the  legs  of  a  recumbent 
tiger.  We  threw  stones  in,  but  the  animal  never  moved  ; 
and  on  getting  a  view  of  her  head,  my  friend  put  a  ball 
through  it.  Three  of  us  now  got  down  into  the  den,  and 
with  much  difficulty  contrived  to  get  the  beast  out  without 
injuring  the  skin." 

Looking  around  once  for  a  wounded  tiger  in  the 
Nielgherries  by  night,  Major  Leveson  and  his  party 
drove  the  beast  into  a  patch  of  jungle,  "not  more  than 
fifty  yards  long  by  twenty  wide.  Chinneah  (the  head 
shikari)  threw  a  couple  of  lighted  rockets  into  this  retreat, 


232  Wild  Beasts 


which  evidently  annoyed  him,  although  they  had  not  the 
effect  of  causing  the  animal  to  break ;  it  only  set  up  a  low 
angry  growl  that  lasted  for  some  time.  Two  or  three 
times  I  saw  the  bushes  shake  as  if  it  were  about  to  spring ; 
and  once  I  caught  a  hurried  glimpse  of  its  outline,  and 
threw  up  my  rifle,  but  put  it  down  again,  as  I  did  not  like 
to  fire  a  chance  shot  with  an  uncertain  aim.  Again  Chin- 
neah's  rockets  flew  hissing  about  the  tiger,  and  caused  him 

to  move,  for  B caught  sight  of  him  and  let  drive  right 

and  left.  Then  out  he  sprang  with  an  appalling  roar,  and 
struck  down  poor  Ali,  who,  notwithstanding  my  orders, 
had  separated  himself  from  the  rest  in  order  to  pick  up  a 
stone  to  throw  into  the  bush.  His  piercing  death  shriek 
rang  through  the  night  air,  striking  terror  to  every  heart ; 
and  although  I  knew  that  it  was  too  late  to  save  him,  I 
determined  that  he  should  be  revenged,  and  dashed  for- 
ward towards  the  spot  where  the  infuriated  brute  was 
savagely  growling  as  it  shook  the  senseless  but  quivering 
body.  No  sooner  did  I  get  a  glimpse  of  the  tiger  than  I 
knew  I  was  perceived,  for  with  a  short  angry  roar  he  left 
the  corpse,  and  crouched  low  upon  the  ground,  with  head 
down,  back  arched,  and  tail  lashing  his  heaving  flanks. 
At  this  moment  .  .  .  carefully  aiming  between  the  eyes 
which  glared  upon  me  like  balls  of  fire,  I  fired  —  he  reared 
up  at  full  length,  and  fell  back  dead. 

"  Vengeance  satisfied,  I  went  up  to  poor  Ali,  whom  I 
found  shockingly  mutilated.  His  death  must,  however, 
have  been  instantaneous,  as  the  tiger  with  the  first  blow 
had  shattered  his  skull  and  scattered  his  brains  about  the 
spot." 


The  Tiger  233 


The  hunting  tiger  is  not  the  highest  development  of  his 
species.  He  has  not  much  to  learn,  compared  with  a  man- 
eater,  in  order  to  adjust  himself  to  the  requirements  of  life  ; 
and  the  gaunt,  somewhat  undersized,  active,  hardy,  shy  and 
solitary  beast,  pursues  the  tenor  of  his  way  far  from  the 
habitations  of  men,  of  whom  he  is  wary  and  distrustful, 
chiefly  on  account  of  their  strangeness. 

To  a  cattle-lifter  life  presents  more  diversified  scenes. 
The  way  in  which  the  animal  lives  implies  a  greater  com- 
plexity of  conditions  to  which  he  is  required  to  adapt  himself, 
and  a  corresponding  development  of  faculty.  This  kind  of 
tiger,  except  under  circumstances  which  rarely  occur,  is  both 
a  game-killer  and  beef-eater.  Few  districts  yield  a  constant 
supply  in  the  way  of  cattle,  and  when  that  fails,  necessity 
compels  the  marauder  to  hunt  almost  exclusively,  or  take 
to  homicide.  On  the  one  hand,  these  creatures  have  the 
experiences  and  training  of  their  brethren  belonging  to 
the  wastes ;  on  the  other,  they  are  to  some  extent  brought 
into  a  certain  relationship  with  human  beings,  become 
accustomed  to  them,  observe  their  actions,  and  are  famil- 
iarized during  those  plundering  expeditions,  by  which  they 
mainly  support  themselves,  with  a  variety  of  things  which 
are  altogether  outside  the  ordinary  experiences  of  wild 
beasts.  Of  the  two  classes,  it  goes  without  saying  that 
the  latter  must  be  the  more  evolved  ;  for  it  is  not  more 
certain  that,  other  things  being  equal,  the  man  who  has 
had  most  training  will  be  most  capable,  than  it  is  that  the 
same  effects  will  follow  in  the  case  of  tigers. 

Those  regions  inhabited  by  hunting  tigers  have  not  failed 
to  contribute,  through  the  influence  of  their  associations 


234  Wild  Beasts 


and  scenery,  to  that  vague  body  of  feeling  and  of  imagina- 
tive impressions,  which  most  persons  carry  with  them 
concerning  this  suggestive  animal.  "Tigers,"  remarks 
Sherwell,  "are  prone  to  haunt  those  crumbling  works 
belonging  to  states  and  dynasties  that  have  been  swept 
away  by  war."  In  the  deserted  fortress  of  Mahoor,  says 
Major  Bevan,  they  were  "  so  abundant  that  a  few  match- 
lock-men, who  had  been  kept  there  to  guard  the  temple, 
were  afraid  to  go  occasionally  to  the  arsenal  to  bring  their 
ammunition."  The  jungles  and  forests  where  game-killing 
tigers  prowl  for  their  prey  are  among  those  scenes  in 
nature  which  no  man  who  has  appreciated  their  full  signifi- 
cance ever  forgets.  "  They  who  have  never  explored 
a  primeval  forest,"  writes  Leveson,  "  can  have  but  a  very 
faint  impression  of  the  mysterious  effect  that  absence 
of  light  and  intense  depth  of  gloom  .  .  .  the  unbroken 
stillness  and  utter  silence  .  .  .  exert  upon  the  mind." 
They  "  create  a  strange  feeling  of  awe  and  loneliness  that 
depresses  the  spirits  and  appalls  the  hearts  of  those  unac- 
customed to  wander  in  these  solitudes.  .  .  .  Solitude  is 
too  insufficient  a  term  to  convey  an  idea  of  the  overpower- 
ing sensation  of  desolation  and  abandonment  that  pervades 
these  regions." 

Stranger,  perhaps  stronger  than  all  else,  is  the  bewilder- 
ing feeling  of  contrast  between  the  impressive  actualities 
of  one's  surroundings,  and  the  spectral  appearance  of  what- 
ever the  eye  takes  in.  Peril  may  be  imminent  at  every 
step,  and  yet  all  things  seem  unreal  in  that  weird  atmos- 
phere in  which  they  are  seen.  Animals  look  like  the 
shadows  of  themselves.  An  elephant's  motionless,  gigan- 


The  Tiger  235 


tic  form,  looming  even  larger  than  in  life,  will  define  itself 
upon  the  sight,  vanish  as  you  gaze,  and  by  some  new  effect 
of  light,  reappear  in  the  same  spot  and  the  same  position. 
It  is  like  being  in  the  enchanted  forests  of  old  romances  ; 
and  such  impressions  can  scarcely  have  failed  to  influence 
many  whose  exploits  were  performed  amid  such  scenes. 
Leveson,  in  a  place  like  this,  saw  the  only  encounter  that 
has  been  described  between  the  tiger  and  a  bison  bull. 

"Whilst  hunting  in  the  jungle  between  the  Bowani 
River,  and  the  Goodaloor  Pass,  at  the  foot  of  the  Nede- 
niallah  Hills,  my  friend  Burton  and  I  witnessed  a  most 
gallantly-contested  fight  between  a  bull  bison  and  a  tiger. 
.  .  .  Night  had  scarcely  set  in  when  a  loud  bellowing 
was  heard,  followed  by  an  unmistakable  roar  that  caused 
no  little  commotion  amongst  the  horses  and  bullocks  that 
were  picketed  round  our  tents.  From  the  ominous  sounds 
which  succeeded  we  knew  that  a  mortal  combat  was  rag- 
ing at  no  great  distance  from  our  bivouac.  Having  ar- 
ranged for  the  safety  of  our  camp,  Burton  and  I,  armed 
with  rifles  and  pistols,  followed  closely  by  Chinneah  and 
Googooloo,  each  carrying  a  couple  of  spare  guns,  sallied 
forth ;  and  keeping  along  the  bank  of  the  river  for  a 
short  distance,  entered  the  dense  cover,  from  which  the 
sounds  of  the  contest  seemed  to  issue,  by  a  narrow  deer- 
run.  Here  we  could  only  get  along  very  slowly,  having  to 
separate  the  tangled  brushwood  with  one  hand,  and  hold  our 
rifles  cocked  and  ready  with  the  other.  We  proceeded  in 
this  manner  for  some  distance,  guided  by  the  noise  of  the 
contest,  which  sounded  nearer  and  nearer,  and  came  to  an 
opening  in  the  woods  where  we  saw  a  huge  bull  bison, 


236  Wild  Beasts 


evidently  much  excited,  for  his  eyes  flashed  fire,  his  tail 
was  straight  on  end,  and  he  was  tearing  up  the  ground 
with  his  forefeet,  all  the  while  grunting  furiously.  As 
we  were  all,  luckily,  well  to  leeward,  the  taint  in  the  air 
was  not  likely  to  be  winded,  so  I  made  signs  to  the  bearers 
to  lay  down  their  guns,  and  climb  into  an  adjacent  tree; 
while  Burton  and  myself,  with  a  rifle  in  each  hand,  by  dint 
of  creeping  on  our  hands  and  knees,  gained  a  small  clump 
of  bushes  on  a  raised  bank,  and  not  more  than  thirty 
yards  distant,  whence  we  could  see  all  that  was  going  on. 
When  we  first  arrived,  the  tiger  was  nowhere  to  be  seen ; 
but  from  the  bison's  cautious  movements,  I  knew  he 
could  not  be  far  off.  The  moon  was  high  in  the  heavens, 
making  the  night  as  clear  as  day  ;  so  not  a  movement 
could  escape  us,  although  we  were  well  concealed  from 
view. 

"  Several  rounds  had  already  been  fought,  for  the  game 
had  been  going  on  a  good  twenty  minutes  before  we  came 
up,  and  the  bison,  besides  being  covered  with  lather  about 
the  flanks,  bore  several  severe  marks  of  the  tiger's  claws 
on  the  face  and  shoulders.  Whilst  we  were  ensconcing 
ourselves  comfortably  behind  the  cover,  with  our  rifles  in 
readiness  for  self-defence  only,  —  for  we  had  no  intention 
of  interfering  in  the  fair  stand-up  fight  which  had  evidently 
been  taking  place,  —  a  low  savage  growling  about  fifteen 
paces  to  the  right  attracted  our  attention  ;  and  crouched 
behind  a  tuft  of  fern,  we  discerned  the  shape  of  an  im- 
mense tiger  watching  the  movements  of  the  bison,  which, 
with  his  head  kept  constantly  turned  towards  the  danger, 
was  alternately  cropping  the  grass,  and  giving  vent  to  his 


The  Tiger  237 


excited  feelings  every  now  and  then  by  a  deep,  tremulous 
roaring,  which  seemed  to  awaken  all  the  echoes  of  the  sur- 
rounding woods.  The  tiger,  whose  glaring  eyes  were  fixed 
upon  his  antagonist,  now  and  again  shifted  his  quarters  a 
few  paces  either  to  the  right  or  the  left,  once  coming  so 
near  our  ambuscade  that  I  could  almost  have  touched  him 
with  the  muzzle  of  my  rifle  ;  but  the  wary  old  bull  never 
lost  sight  of  him  for  a  second,  and  ever  followed  his  mo- 
tions with  his  head  lowered  to  receive  an  attack.  At  last 
the  tiger,  which  all  along  had  been  whining  and  growling 
most  impatiently,  stole  gently  forward,  his  belly  crouching 
along  the  ground,  every  hair  standing  on  end,  his  flanks 
heaving,  his  back  arched,  and  his  tail  whisking  about  and 
lashing  his  sides ;  but  before  he  could  gather  himself  to- 
gether for  a  spring  which  might  have  proved  fatal,  the 
bison,  with  a  shriek  of  desperation,  charged  at  full  speed, 
with  his  head  lowered  and  the  horns  pointed  upward,  but 
overshot  the  mark,  as  his  antagonist  adroitly  shifted  his 
ground  just  in  time  to  avoid  a  vicious  stroke  from  the  mas- 
sive horns.  Then  making  a  half  circle,  he  sprang  with  the 
intention  of  alighting  on  the  bison's  broad  neck  and  shoul- 
ders. This  the  bull  evaded  by  a  dexterous  twist ;  and  be- 
fore his  adversary  could  recover  himself,  he  again  rushed 
at  him,  caught  him  behind  the  shoulders  with  his  horns, 
and  flung  him  some  distance,  following  up  to  repeat  the 
move,  but  the  tiger  slunk  away  to  gather  breath. 

"  Round  after  round  of  the  same  kind  followed,  allowing 
breathing-time  between  each,  the  tiger  generally  getting 
the  worst  of  it,  for  the  bull  sometimes  received  his  rush 
on  his  massive  forehead  and  horns,  and  threw  him  a  con- 


238  Wild  Beasts 


siderable  distance,  bruised  and  breathless,  although  his 
skin  seemed  to  be  too  tough  for  the  points  to  penetrate. 
Once,  however,  I  thought  the  bison's  chance  was  all  over, 
for  the  tiger,  by  a  lucky  spring,  managed  to  fasten  on  his 
brawny  shoulder,  and  I  could  hear  the  crunching  sound  of 
his  teeth  meeting  again  and  again  in  the  flesh,  while  the 
claws  tore  the  flank  like  an  iron  rake.  With  a  maddening 
scream  of  mingled  rage  and  pain,  the  bull  flung  himself 
heavily  on  the  ground,  nearly  crushing  his  nimble  adver- 
sary to  death  with  his  ponderous  weight ;  and  the  tiger, 
breathless  and  reeling  with  exhaustion,  endeavored  to  slink 
away  with  his  tail  between  his  legs.  But  no  respite,  was 
given,  his  relentless  foe  pursued  with  roars  of  vengeance, 
and  again  rolled  him  over  before  he  could  regain  his  legs 
to  make  another  spring.  The  tiger,  now  fairly  conquered, 
endeavored  to  beat  a  retreat,  but  this  the  bison  would  not 
allow.  He  rushed  at  him  furiously  over  and  over  again;  and 
at  last,  getting  him  against  a  bank  of  earth,  pounded  him 
with  his  forehead  and  horns  until  he  lay  motionless,  when 
he  sprang  with  his  whole  weight  upon  him,  striking  him 
with  the  forefeet,  and  displaying  an  agility  I  thought  in- 
compatible with  his  unwieldy  appearance. 

"  The  combat,  which  had  lasted  over  a  couple  of  hours, 
was  now  over,  for  the  tiger,  which  we  thought  might  be 
only  stunned,  gave  unmistakable  signs  of  approaching  dis- 
solution. He  lay  gasping,  his  mouth  half  open,  exposing 
his  rough  tongue  and  massive  yellow  teeth.  His  eyes  were 
fixed,  convulsive  struggles  drew  up  his  limbs,  a  quiver 
passed  over  his  body,  and  all  was  still.  His  conqueror  was 
standing  over  him  with  heaving  flanks,  and  crimsoned  foam 


The  Tiger  239 


flying  from  his  widely  distended  nostrils ;  but  his  rolling 
eye  was  becoming  dim,  for  the  life-blood  was  fast  ebbing 
from  a  ghastly  wound  in  the  neck,  and  he  reeled  about  like 
a  drunken  man,  still,  however,  fronting  his  dead  enemy, 
and  keeping  his  horns  lowered  as  if  to  charge.  From  time 
to  time  he  bellowed  with  rage,  but  his  voice  became 
fainter,  and  at  last  subsided  into  a  deep  hollow  moan. 
Then  his  mighty  strength  failed  him,  and  he  could  not 
keep  on  his  legs,  which  seemed  to  bend  slowly,  causing 
him  to  plunge  forward.  Again  he  made  a  desperate  effort 
to  recover  himself,  staggered  a  few  paces,  and  with  a  surly 
growl  of  defiance,  fell  never  to  rise  again  ;  for,  after  a  few 
convulsive  heavings,  his  body  became  motionless,  and  we 
knew  that  all  was  over." 

How  often  a  conflict  between  animals  so  formidable 
ends  in  the  assailant's  repulse  or  death,  we  do  not  know, 
neither  can  we  say  whether  bisons  are  habitually  attacked 
by  tigers.  Lions  destroy  the  African  buffalo  either  singly 
or  by  taking  odds ;  and  in  a  personal  contest,  the  tiger 
would  generally  have  the  advantage  over  a  lion.  They 
have  often  been  pitted  against  each  other,  and  the  general 
result  is  well  known  to  be  as  stated.  Gunga,  who  belonged 
to  the  King  of  Oude,  killed  thirty  lions,  and  destroyed 
another  after  being  transferred  to  the  zoological  garden  in 
London. 

When  the  young  tiger  first  makes  his  appearance  among 
the  fastnesses  of  forests,  he  is  one  foot  long,  has  but 
little  coat,  although  his  stripes  can  be  seen,  and  is  blind. 
On  the  eighth  or  tenth  day  his  eyes  open,  and  by  that 
time  he  has  grown  four  inches  and  a  half.  At  nine 


240  Wild  Beasts 


months  the  length  is  five  feet,  and  at  the  expiration  of 
a  year  he  measures  five  feet  eight  inches.  When  two 
years  of  age  the  male's  length  from  tip  to  tip  is  about 
seven  feet  six  inches,  and  that  of  the  tigress  seven  feet. 
Between  the  second  and  third  year  they  separate  from 
their  mother.  While  in  the  days  of  his  youth  the  lodia 
bagh  makes  indiscriminate  war  upon  the  brute  creation, 
commits  unnecessary  murders,  stalks  his  prey  instead  of 
surprising  it,  and,  Leveson  and  others  assert,  chases  it 
like  the  cheetah.  But  time  diminishes  nervous  energy, 
and  leaves  him,  like  all  other  beings,  bereft  of  the  incite- 
ments its  excess  engenders.  Experience  warns  him 
against  the  consequences  of  temerity,  and  he  grows  lazy. 
Then  these  animals  take  to  ambushing  deer-runs  and 
drinking  places ;  they  round  up  game  by  moving  round 
and  roaring ;  they  practise  upon  the  curiosity  which  besets 
the  Cervidce ;  and  partly  show  themselves  in  the  jungle  to 
tempt  an  axis  deer  to  a  closer  inspection ;  they  are  also  said 
to  bark  in  imitation  of  the  sambur  stag,  in  order  to  lure  a 
doe  or  some  pugnacious  buck,  within  reach  of  a  rush. 

As  for  the  beast  that  takes  to  man-eating,  what  was 
most  probably  at  first  an  accidental  event,  now  be- 
comes the  occupation  of  its  life.  In  the  first  place  it 
encountered  men  casually,  now  this  is  done  with  inten- 
tion. He  must  study  the  habits  of  his  game,  and  that  he 
does  so,  is  attested  by  his  fatal  success.  Adme  khane 
wallah,  the  eater  of  men,  glares  upon  them  from  every 
"  coign  of  vantage  "  ;  he  discriminates  between  individuals, 
classes,  and  occupations,  he  learns  the  ways  of  farmers 
and  woodcutters,  of  women  who  wash  by  the  stream,  of 


The  Tiger  241 


mail-carriers,  and  travellers  on  roads,  of  priests  who  serve 
at  lonely  shrines. 

No  country  is  so  favorable  for  his  exploits  as  India. 
The  endless  divisions  of  its  people  into  castes  or  profes- 
sions is  destructive  to  unanimity  of  feeling  and  combined 
action.  The  "  gentle  Hindu,"  who  is  one  of  the  most 
callous  and  unsympathetic  of  mankind,  folds  his  hands 
when  one  of  his  co-religionists  has  been  carried  off,  and 
says  that  Kali  probably  sent  the  tiger  for  that  especial 
purpose,  so  what  has  he  to  do  with  it  ?  His  Mussulman 
acquaintance  twists  his  mustache,  and  mutters,  Ul-humd- 
ul-illa^  praise  be  to  God,  this  man  was  only  an  infidel,  and 
it  was  his  destiny  !  They  cannot  act  together,  and  for- 
merly matters  were  worse  than  they  are  now. 

Nothing  could  suit  the  prowling  tiger  better  than  these 
isolated  settlements  with  their  careless,  nearly  defenceless 
inhabitants,  the  by-ways  and  wastes  that  separate  them. 
When  he  has  once  killed  a  man,  and  has  discovered  the 
creature's  feebleness,  those  horrors  so  often  recorded 
follow  as  matters  of  course.  Henceforth,  nobody  is  safe 
beyond  the  walls  of  his  town  or  dwelling.  Occasionally 
not  even  there,  for  the  man-eater  combines  the  extremes 
of  conduct,  —  excessive  wariness  and  desperate  audacity. 

There  is  no  necessity  to  multiply  references  as  to  the  fact 
that  these  tigers  are  audacious,  —  that  is  generally  known 
to  be  the  case ;  but  it  is  well  to  remember  in  connection 
with  their  relations  to  mankind,  that  they  are  apt  to 
become  panic-stricken  at  anything  which  appears  strange 
and  unaccountable.  Colonel  Pollok  preserves  an  incident 
("Sport  in  British  Burmah")  which  illustrates  their  enter- 


242  Wild  Beasts 


prise,  and  yet  shows  how  they  become  confused,  incapable, 
and  appalled  by  whatever  is  beyond  comprehension,  —  a 
feature  in  the  animal's  character,  by  the  way,  which  is 
much  more  creditable  to  its  intellect  than  derogatory  to  its 
courage. 

Hill,  the  officer  to  whom  the  adventure  happened, 
relates  his  own  experiences.  He  was  out  with  a  body  of 
native  troops  after  some  Shan  mutineers  at  the  time,  and 
in  a  country  that  Crawfurd,  Colonel  Yule,  Hallett,  Colqu- 
houn,  etc.,  speak  of  as  much  infested  by  tigers.  At 
Yonzaleem  a  report  was  brought  to  him  that  a  scourge 
of  this  kind  was  in  the  neighborhood,  and  that  fifteen  men 
had  been  killed  in  a  month  ;  but  duty  called,  and  there  was 
no  time  in  which  to  go  hunting.  "We  were  travelling 
along  a  mountain  pathway  fringed  with  bamboo-like 
grass,"  Hill  says,  "and  I  was  leading  the  way  about 
thirty  paces,  perhaps,  in  front  of  the  party,  followed  at  a 
little  distance  by  my  lugelay,  or  Burmese  boy,  carrying 
my  loaded  gun.  I  had  nothing  in  my  hand  but  my  oak 
stick,  but  you  know  what  a  shillelah  it  is,  and  what  a 
thundering  blow  can  be  given  with  it.  It  was  still  early, 
and  as  I  was  trudging  along  carelessly,  the  men  behind 
me  jabbering  and  talking,  I  heard  a  slight  noise  on  the 
edge  of  the  pathway  to  my  right ;  for  a  second  I  paid 
no  attention  to  it,  but  thinking  it  might  be  a  jungle-fowl 
or  a  pheasant,  I  beckoned  to  the  boy  to  give  me  my  gun. 
He  had  loitered  behind,  and  before  he  could  reach  me, 
by  slow  degrees  out  came  the  head  of  an  enormous  tiger, 
close  to  me,  almost  within  hitting  distance.  Unfortu- 
nately my  lad,  and  the  Burmese  escort,  saw  it  too,  and 


The  Tiger  243 


halted,  calling  out '  The  tiger !  the  tiger !  he  will  be  killed  ! 
he  will  be  killed ! '  meaning  me.  I  did  not  take  my  eyes 
off  the  tiger's,  but  put  my  hand  behind  my  back,  saying 
in  Burmese  to  the  boy,  '  Give  me  my  gun ; '  but  he  and 
the  others  only  kept  jabbering,  '  He  will  be  killed  !  he  will 
be  killed ! '  Not  a  man  stirred,  though  they  were  all 
armed  and  loaded.  So  there  we  were,  the  tiger  and  I, 
face  to  face.  At  last,  thinking  to  frighten  it  away,  I 
lifted  the  stick  and  pretended  to  hit  it  a  back-handed 
blow,  at  the  same  time  making  a  sort  of  yelling  noise. 
The  stick  was  over  my  left  shoulder,  but  so  far  from 
being  intimidated,  the  tiger  rushed  at  me,  and  I  caught 
him  a  blow  on  the  side  of  the  head  and  floored  him. 

"  Seeing  him  pick  himself  up  with  his  back  towards  me, 
I  thought  he  was  going  to  bolt,  and  for  the  first  time  turned 
round,  and  said,  'Now  give  me  my  gun.'  Before  the 
words  were  well  out  of  my  mouth,  my  stick  was  sent 
flying,  my  right  hand  pinned  to  my  side  by  one  of  his 
hind  claws,  and  one  of  his  fore-paws  on  my  shoulder  and 
back,  and  he  stood  over  me  growling  in  a  most  diabolical 
manner.  I  bent  my  back,  stuck  out  my  legs,  and  with 
my  left  arm  struck  towards  my  right  shoulder  at  the 
brute's  face,  which  was  towering  over  me,  snarling  and 
growling  like  the  very  devil.  Suddenly,  with  an  infernal 
roar,  he  struck  me  on  the  neck,  and  down  I  went  as  if  I 
had  been  shot,  the  tiger  turning  a  somersault  over  me, 
and  falling  on  his  back.  In  a  second,  in  my  endeavors  to 
get  up,  I  was  on  my  hands  and  knees,  the  blood  pouring 
over  my  face,  beard  and  chest,  giving  me,  I  have  no 
doubt,  a  most  satanic  appearance.  As  the  tiger  recovered 


244  Wild  Beasts 


we  met  face  to  face.  He  looked  at  me,  seemed  to  think 
that  by  some  strange  metamorphosis,  from  a  two-legged 
man,  whom  he  despised,  I  had  become  some  kind  of  a 
four-legged  monster  like  himself,  put  his  tail  between  his 
legs,  and  bolted  for  his  life." 

This  is  a  very  disconcerting  account  for  those  who 
assert  that  the  tiger  is  always  dazed  by  daylight,  and  a 
coward  at  all  times;  that  he  shrinks  from  the  sight  and 
scent  of  human  beings,  flies  from  the  sound  of  the  human 
voice,  and  quails  before  the  glance  of  a  man's  eye. 

Colonel  Pollok  ("Natural  History  Notes")  says  he 
"never  heard  of  a  black  tiger,"  but  that  he  has  "seen  the 
skins  of  three  white  ones;  two  entirely  white  and  the 
other  faintly  marked  with  yellow  stripes."  These  came 
from  the  mountains  of  Indo-China.  In  the  Himalayas 
they  have  been  shot  at  an  elevation  of  eight  thousand 
feet  above  the  sea,  and,  besides  being  what  is  called  white, 
were  maned.  J.  W.  Atkinson  ("Travels  on  the  Upper 
and  Lower  Amoor  ")  tells  of  a  young  Kirghis  who,  while 
carrying  off  his  bride,  camped  on  this  river  and  lost  her 
there  by  a  tiger's  attack.  He  threw  away  his  own  life  in 
following  this  animal,  dagger  in  hand,  into  the  reeds. 
This  does  not  always  happen  so  by  any  means.  Asiatics 
do  what  Europeans  cannot  attempt.  It  is  well  known 
that  the  Ghoorkas  kill  tigers  with  their  celebrated  knives  ; 
but  we  do  not  hear  how  many  of  them  are  destroyed  in 
such  combats.  Captain  Basil  Hall  ("Travels  in  India") 
saw  a  Hindu  (using  one  of  these  weapons)  meet  a  tiger 
at  a  Rajah's  court,  evade  his  spring,  hamstring  him  as  he 
passed,  and  cut  through  his  neck  into  the  spinal  cord 


The  Tiger  245 


when  the  brute  turned.  In  ancient  times  that  class  of 
gladiators  called  Bestiarii,  encountered  tigers  in  the 
Roman  arena;  and  if  one  may  judge  from  notices  that 
are  rather  vague,  they  were  pretty  generally  expended. 
The  Brinjarries,  says  Forsyth,  sometimes,  assisted  by 
their  dogs,  assail  them  with  lances ;  and  they  were  cer- 
tainly killed  by  arrows  at  one  period,  but  in  what  propor- 
tion to  those  whom  they  slew  is  unknown. 

Certain  traits  are  common  to  all  the  race  ;  and  as  a  sum- 
mary of  the  foregoing,  the  appended  remarks  and  illustra- 
tions will  not  be  out  of  place.  Wherever  the  tiger  is  found, 
water,  despite  Colonel  Barras'  solitary  voice  to  the  contrary, 
must  be  near.  He  drinks  much  and  often,  and  cannot  live 
in  arid  places.  Therefore  it  is  that  the  time  to  hunt  him 
in  India  is  during  the  hot  season.  Those  spots  where  he 
resorts  for  water,  and  what  is  equally  necessary  to  him, 
shade,  are  well  known  in  all  parts  where  he  is  to  be  found  ; 
and  it  is  there  that  buffaloes  —  young  ones,  for  an  ordi- 
narily fastidious  tiger  will  not  touch  an  old,  tough  animal 
—  are  tied  up.  When  taken,  his  trail  is  followed  to  the 
spot  where  he  makes  his  lair. 

There  is  one  exception,  however,  to  all  rules  that  usually 
govern  the  pursuit  of  tigers.  When  a  man-eater  is  the 
object,  the  trailing  must  go  on  all  day  and  every  day  until 
this  monster  is  run  down.  No  better  example  of  what  is 
to  be  done  under  these  circumstances  can  be  given  than 
Captain  Forsyth's  narrative  of  his  own  exploit  in  the 
Betul  jungle. 

"I  spent  nearly  a  week  ...  in  the  destruction  of  a 
famous  man-eater,  that  had  completely  closed  several  roads, 


246  Wild  Beasts 


and  was  estimated  to  have  devoured  over  a  hundred  human 
beings.  One  of  these  roads  was  the  main  outlet  from  the 
Be" tul  teak  forests,  towards  the  railway  under  construction 
in  the  Harbada  valley  ;  and  the  work  of  the  sleeper-con- 
tractors was  completely  at  a  stand-still,  owing  to  the 
ravages  of  this  brute.  He  occupied  regularly  a  large 
triangle  of  country  between  the  rivers  Moran  and  Ganjal ; 
occasionally  making  a  tour  of  destruction  much  further  to 
the  east  and  west,  and  striking  terror  into  a  breadth  of  not 
less  than  thirty  or  forty  miles.  It  was  therefore  supposed 
that  the  devastation  was  caused  by  more  than  one  animal  ; 
and  we  thought  we  had  disposed  of  one  of  these  early  in 
April,  when  we  killed  a  very  cunning  old  tiger  of  evil 
repute  after  several  days'  severe  hunting.  But  I  am  now 
certain  that  the  one  I  destroyed  subsequently  was  the  real 
malefactor,  since  killing  again  commenced  after  we 
had  left,  and  all  loss  of  human  life  did  not  cease  till  the 
day  I  finally  disposed  of  him. 

"  He  had  not  been  heard  of  for  a  week  or  two  when  I 
came  into  his  country,  and  pitched  my  camp  in  a  splendid 
mango  grove  near  the  large  village  of  Lokartalae,  on  the 
Moran  River. 

"  A  few  days  of  lazy  existence  in  this  microcosm  of  a 
grove  passed  not  unpleasantly.  ...  In  the  mean  time  I 
was  regaled  with  stories  of  the  man-eater  —  of  his  fearful 
size  and  appearance,  with  belly  pendent  to  the  ground,  and 
white  moon  on  the  top  of  his  forehead  ;  his  pork-butcher- 
like  method  of  detaining  a  party  of  travellers  while  he 
rolled  himself  in  the  sand,  and  at  last  came  up  and  in- 
spected them  all  round,  selecting  the  fattest ;  his  power  of 


The  Tiger  247 


transforming  himself  into  an  innocent-looking  woodcutter, 
and  calling  or  whistling  through  the  jungle  till  an  unsus- 
pecting victim  approached ;  how  the  spirits  of  all  his  vic- 
tims rode  with  him  upon  his  head,  warning  him  of  every 
danger,  and  guiding  him  to  the  fatal  ambush  where  a 
traveller  would  shortly  pass.  All  the  best  shikaris  of  the 
country-side  were  collected  in  my  camp,  and  the  land- 
holders and  many  of  the  people  besieged  my  tent  morning 
and  evening.  The  infant  of  a  woman  who  had  been  carried 
away  while  drawing  water  at  a  well  was  brought  and  held 
up  before  me,  and  every  offer  of  assistance  in  destroying 
the  monster  made.  No  useful  help  was,  however,  to  be 
expected  from  a  terror-stricken  population  like  this.  They 
lived  in  barricaded  houses,  and  only  stirred  out,  when 
necessity  compelled,  in  large  bodies,  covered  by  armed 
men,  and  beating  drums  and  shouting  as  they  passed  along 
the  roads.  Many  villages  had  been  utterly  deserted,  and 
the  country  was  being  slowly  depopulated  by  a  single 
animal.  So  far  as  I  could  learn,  he  had  been  killing  alone 
for  about  a  year  —  another  tiger  that  had  assisted  him  in 
his  fell  occupation  having  been  shot  the  previous  hot 
weather.  Be"tul  has  always  been  unusually  afflicted  with 
man-eaters,  the  cause  apparently  being  the  great  numbers 
of  cattle  that  come  for  a  limited  season  to  graze  in  that 
country,  and  a  scarcity  of  other  prey  at  the  time  when 
these  are  absent,  combined  with  the  unusually  convenient 
cover  for  tigers  alongside  of  most  of  the  roads.  The  man- 
eaters  of  the  Central  Provinces  rarely  confine  themselves 
solely  to  human  food,  though  some  have  almost  done  so  to 
my  own  knowledge. 


248  Wild  Beasts 


"  As  soon  as  I  could  ride  in  the  howdah  [Captain  For- 
syth  was  suffering  from  an  accident  at  this  time],  and  long 
before  I  was  able  to  do  more  than  hobble  on  foot,  I  marched 
to  a  place  called  Charkhe"ra,  where  the  last  kill  had  been 
reported.  My  usually  straggling  following  was  now  com- 
pressed into  a  close  body,  preceded  and  followed  by  bag- 
gage-elephants, and  protected  by  a  guard  of  police  with 
muskets,  peons  with  my  spare  guns,  and  a  whole  posse  of 
matchlock  shikaris.  Two  deserted  villages  were  passed  on 
the  road,  and  heaps  of  stones  at  intervals  showed  where  some 
traveller  had  been  struck  down.  A  better  hunting-ground 
for  a  man-eater  certainly  could  not  be  found.  Thick,  scrubby 
teak  jungle  closed  in  the  road  on  both  sides;  and  alongside 
of  it  for  a  great  part  of  the  way  wound  a  narrow,  deep 
watercourse,  overshadowed  by  jamare  bushes,  and  with 
here  and  there  a  small  pool  of  water  still  left.  I  hunted 
along  this  nala  the  whole  way,  and  found  many  old  tracks 
of  a  very  large  male  tiger,  which  the  shikaris  declared  to 
be  those  of  the  man-eater.  There  were  none  more  recent, 
however,  than  several  days.  Charkhe'ra  was  also  deserted 
on  account  of  the  tiger,  and  there  was  no  shade  to  speak 
of ;  but  it  was  the  most  central  place  within  reach  of  the 
usual  haunts  of  the  brute,  so  I  encamped  there,  and  sent 
the  baggage-elephants  back  to  fetch  provisions.  In  the 
evening  I  was  startled  by  a  messenger  from  a  place  called 
La,  on  the  Moran  River,  nearly  in  the  direction  I  had  come 
from,  who  said  that  one  of  a  party  of  pilgrims  who  had 
been  travelling  unsuspectingly  by  a  jungle  road,  had  been 
carried  off  by  the  tiger  close  to  that  place.  Early  next 
morning  I  started  off  with  two  elephants,  and  arrived  at 


The  Tiger  249 


the  spot  about  eight  o'clock.  The  man  had  been  struck 
down  where  a  small  ravine  leading  to  the  Moran  crosses  a 
lonely  pathway  a  few  miles  east  of  La.  The  shoulder- 
stick  with  its  pendant  baskets,  in  which  the  holy  water 
from  his  place  of  pilgrimage  had  been  carried  by  the  hap- 
less man,  was  lying  on  the  ground  in  a  dried-up  pool  of 
blood,  and  shreds  of  his  clothes  adhered  to  the  bushes 
where  he  had  been  dragged  down  into  the  bed  of  the  nala. 

"  We  tracked  the  man-eater  and  his  prey  into  a  very  thick 
grass  cover,  alive  with  spotted  deer,  where  he  had  broken 
up  and  devoured  the  greater  part  of  the  body.  Some 
bones  and  shreds  of  flesh,  and  the  skull,  hands,  and  feet 
were  all  that  remained.  This  tiger  never  returned  to  his 
victim  a  second  time,  so  it  was  useless  to  found  any  scheme 
for  killing  him  on  that  expectation.  We  took  up  his  tracks, 
however,  from  the  body,  and  carried  them  patiently  down 
through  very  dense  jungle  to  the  banks  of  the  Moran,  — 
the  trackers  working  in  fear  and  trembling  under  the 
trunk  of  my  elephant,  and  covered  by  my  rifle  at  full  cock. 
At  the  river  the  pugs  [footprints]  went  out  to  a  long  spit 
of  sand  that  projected  into  the  water,  where  the  man-eater 
had  drunk,  and  then  returned  to  a  great  mass  of  piled-up 
rocks  at  the  bottom  of  a  precipitous  bank,  full  of  caverns 
and  recesses.  This  we  searched  with  stones  and  some  fire- 
works I  had  in  the  howdah,  but  put  out  nothing  but  a 
scraggy  hyena,  which  was,  of  course,  allowed  to  escape. 
We  searched  about  here  all  day  in  vain,  and  it  was  not  till 
nearly  sunset  that  I  turned  and  made  for  camp. 

"  It  was  almost  dusk,  when  we  were  a  few  miles  from 
home,  passing  along  the  road  we  had  marched  by  the  for- 


250  Wild  Beasts 


mer  day,  and  the  same  by  which  we  had  come  out  in  the 
morning,  when  one  of  the  men  who  was  walking  behind 
the  elephant  started  and  called  a  halt.  He  had  seen  the 
footprint  of  a  tiger.  The  elephant's  tread  had  partly 
obliterated  it,  but  further  on  where  we  had  not  yet  gone  it 
was  plain  enough,  —  the  great  square  pug  of  the  man-eater 
we  had  been  looking  for  all  day !  He  was  on  before  us, 
and  must  have  passed  since  we  came  out  in  the  morning, 
for  his  track  had  covered  that  of  the  elephants  as  they 
came.  It  was  too  late  to  hope  to  find  him  that  evening, 
and  we  could  only  proceed  slowly  along  on  the  track,  which 
held  to  the  pathway,  keeping  a  bright  lookout.  The  Lalla 
[Forsyth's  famous  tiger-hunting  shikari]  indeed  proposed 
that  he  should  go  on  a  little  ahead  as  a  bait  for  the  tiger, 
while  I  covered  him  from  the  elephant  with  my  rifle.  But 
he  wound  up  by  expressing  a  doubt  whether  his  skinny 
corporation  would  be  a  sufficient  attraction,  and  suggested 
that  a  plump  young  policeman,  who  had  taken  advantage 
of  our  protection  to  make  his  official  visit  to  the  scene  of 
the  last  kill,  should  be  substituted  —  whereat  there  was  a 
general  but  not  very  hearty  grin.  The  subject  was  too 
sore  a  one  in  that  neighborhood  just  then.  About  a  mile 
from  the  camp  the  track  turned  off  into  a  deep  nala  that 
bordered  the  road.  It  was  now  almost  dark,  so  we  went 
on  to  camp,  and  fortified  it  by  posting  the  three  elephants 
on  different  sides,  and  lighting  roaring  fires  between. 
Once  during  the  night  an  elephant  started  out  of  its  deep 
sleep  and  trumpeted  shrilly,  but  in  the  morning  we  could 
find  no  tracks  of  the  tiger  near  us.  I  went  out  early  next 
morning  to  beat  up  the  nala,  for  a  man-eater  is  not  like 


The  Tiger  251 


common  tigers,  and  must  be  sought  for  morning,  noon,  and 
night.  But  I  found  no  tracks  save  in  the  one  place  where 
he  had  crossed  the  ravine  the  evening  before,  and  gone  off 
into  thick  jungle. 

"  On  my  return  to  camp,  just  as  I  was  sitting  down  to 
breakfast,  some  Banjaras  [carriers,  and  probably  gypsies] 
from  a  place  called  Deckna  —  about  a  mile  and  a  half  from 
our  camp  —  came  running  in  to  say  that  one  of  their  com- 
panions had  been  taken  out  of  the  middle  of  their  drove  of 
bullocks  by  the  tiger,  just  as  they  were  starting  from  their 
night's  encampment.  The  elephant  had  not  been  unhar- 
nessed, and  securing  some  food  and  a  bottle  of  claret,  I  was 
not  two  minutes  in  getting  under  way  again.  The  edge  of 
a  low  savanna,  covered  with  long  grass  and  intersected  by 
a  nala,  was  the  scene  of  this  last  assassination,  and  a  broad 
trail  of  crushed-down  grass  showed  where  the  body  had  been 
dragged  down  to  the  nala.  No  tracking  was  required.  It 
was  all  horribly  plain,  and  the  trail  did  not  lead  quite  into 
the  ravine,  which  had  steep  sides,  but  turned  and  went 
alongside  of  it  into  some  very  long  grass  reaching  nearly 
up  to  the  howdah.  Here  Sarju  Parshad,  a  large  govern- 
ment mukna  [tuskless  male  elephant]  I  was  then  riding, 
kicked  violently  at  the  ground  and  trumpeted,  and  imme- 
diately the  long  grass  began  to  wave  ahead.  We  pushed 
on  at  full  speed,  stepping  as  we  went  over  the  ghastly 
half-eaten  body  of  the  Banjara.  But  the  cover  was  dread- 
fully thick,  and  though  I  caught  a  glimpse  of  a  yellow 
object  as  it  jumped  down  into  the  nala,  it  was  not  in  time 
to  fire.  It  was  some  little  time  before  we  could  get  the 
elephant  down  the  bank  and  follow  the  broad  plain  foot- 


252  Wild  Beasts 


steps  of  the  monster,  now  evidently  going  at  a  swinging 
trot.  He  kept  on  in  the  nala  for  about  a  mile,  and  then 
took  to  the  grass  again ;  but  it  was  not  so  long  here,  and 
we  could  make  out  the  trail  from  the  howdah.  Presently, 
however,  it  led  into  rough,  stony  ground,  and  the  tracking 
became  more  difficult.  He  was  evidently  full  of  go,  and 
would  carry  us  far ;  so  I  sent  back  for  more  trackers,  and 
orders  to  send  a  small  tent  across  to  a  hamlet  on  the  banks 
of  the  Ganjal,  towards  which  he  seemed  to  be  making. 
All  that  day  we  followed  the  trail  through  an  exceedingly 
difficult  country,  patiently  working  out  print  by  print,  but 
without  having  been  gratified  by  a  sight  of  his  brindled 
hide.  Several  of  the  local  shikaris  were  admirable  trackers, 
and  we  carried  the  line  down  to  within  about  a  mile  of  the 
river,  where  a  dense,  thorny  cover  began,  through  which 
no  one  could  follow  a  tiger. 

"We  slept  that  night  at  the  little  village,  and  early  next 
morning  made  a  long  cast  ahead,  proceeding  at  once  to  the 
river,  where  we  soon  hit  upon  the  track  leading  straight 
down  its  sandy  bed.  There  were  some  strong  covers  re- 
ported in  the  river-bed  some  miles  ahead,  near  the  large 
village  of  Bhadugaon,  so  I  sent  back  to  order  the  tent  over 
there.  The  track  was  crossed  in  this  river  by  several 
others,  but  was  easily  distinguished  from  all  by  its  superior 
size.  It  had  also  a  peculiar  drag  of  the  toe  of  one  hind 
foot,  which  the  people  knew  and  attributed  to  a  wound  he 
had  received  some  months  before  from  a  shikari's  match- 
lock. There  was  thus  no  doubt  that  we  were  behind  the 
man-eater ;  and  I  determined  to  follow  him  while  I  could 
hold  out,  and  we  could  keep  the  trail.  It  led  right  into  a 


The  Tiger  253 


very  dense  cover  of  jaman  and  tamarisk  in  the  bed  and  on 
the  banks  of  the  river,  a  few  miles  above  Bhadugaon. 
Having  been  hard  pushed  the  previous  day,  we  hoped  that 
he  might  lie  up  here ;  and,  indeed,  there  was  no  other  place 
he  could  well  go  to  for  water  and  shade.  So  we  circled 
round  the  outside  of  the  cover,  and  rinding  no  track  leading 
outside,  considered  him  fairly  ringed.  We  then  went  over 
to  the  village  for  breakfast,  intending  to  return  in  the  heat 
of  the  day. 

"  About  eleven  o'clock  we  again  faced  the  scorching  hot 
wind,  and  made  silently  for  the  cover  where  the  man-eater 
lay.  I  surrounded  it  with  scouts  on  trees,  and  posted  a 
pad-elephant  at  the  only  point  where  he  could  easily  get 
up  the  high  bank  and  make  off,  and  then  pushed  old 
Sarjii  slowly  and  carefully  through  the  cover.  Peafowl 
rose  in  numbers  from  every  bush  as  we  advanced,  and  a 
few  hares  and  other  small  animals  bolted  out  at  the  edges 
—  such  thick  green  covers  being  the  midday  resort  of  all 
the  life  in  the  neighborhood  in  the  hot  weather.  About 
its  centre  the  jungle  was  extremely  thick,  and  the  bottom 
was  cut  up  into  a  number  of  parallel  water-channels  among 
the  strong  roots  and  overhanging  branches  of  the  tamarisk. 

"  Here  the  elephant  paused  and  began  to  kick  the  earth, 
and  to  utter  the  low  tremulous  sound  by  which  some  of  these 
animals  denote  the  close  presence  of  a  tiger.  We  peered 
all  about  with  beatings  of  the  heart ;  and  at  last  the  ma- 
hout, who  was  lower  down  on  the  elephant's  neck,  said  he 
saw  him  lying  beneath  a  thick  Jaman  bush.  We  had  some 
stones  in  the  howdah,  and  I  made  the  Lalla,  who  was 
behind  me  in  the  back  seat,  pitch  one  into  the  bush. 


254  Wild  Be  as  Is 


Instantly  the  tiger  started  up  with  a  short  roar  and  gal- 
loped off  through  the  jungle.  I  gave  him  right  and  left  at 
once,  which  told  loudly ;  but  he  went  on  till  he  saw  the 
pad-elephant  blocking  the  road  he  meant  to  escape  by,  and 
then  he  turned  and  charged  back  at  me  with  horrible 
roars.  It  was  very  difficult  to  see  him  among  the  crashing 
bushes,  and  he  was  within  twenty  yards  before  I  fired 
again.  This  dropped  him  into  one  of  the  channels,  but  he 
picked  himself  up,  and  came  on  as  savagely,  though  more 
slowly,  than  before.  I  was  now  in  the  act  of  covering  him 
with  the  large  shell  rifle,  when  suddenly  Sarju  spun 
round,  and  I  found  myself  looking  the  opposite  way,  while 
a  worrying  sound  behind  me,  and  the  frantic  movements 
of  the  elephant,  told  me  I  had  a  fellow-passenger  on  board 
I  might  well  have  dispensed  with.  All  I  could  do  in  the 
way  of  holding  on  barely  sufficed  to  prevent  myself  and 
guns  from  being  pitched  out ;  and  it  was  some  time  before 
Sarju,  finding  he  could  not  kick  him  off,  paused  to  think 
what  he  would  do  next.  I  seized  that  placid  interval  to 
lean  over  behind  and  put  the  muzzle  of  my  rifle  to  the 
tiger's  head,  blowing  it  into  fifty  pieces  with  the  large 
shell." 

In  Assam  and  other  parts  of  Indo-China,  and  in  the 
interior  of  Malacca,  the  natives  are  treated  by  tigers  much 
after  the  same  manner  as  those  of  India  were  in  the  days 
before  modern  inventions  had  modified  the  views  of  these 
brutes  upon  mankind. 

A  pit  is  an  effectual  device  for  taking  tigers,  but  most 
descriptions  of  the  way  in  which  it  is  arranged  are  evi- 
dently incorrect.  Malays,  however,  procure  most  of  the 


The  Tiger  255 


animals  they  export  by  means  of  pits,  which  are  con- 
structed after  the  manner  of  those  oubliettes  or  "  dungeons 
of  the  forgotten,"  where  in  the  good  old  times  captives 
were  placed  who  had  no  hope  of  release. 

What  is  the  tiger's  temper?  Conventionally,  and 
according  to  common  misapprehension,  he  is  the  furious 
and  insatiable  savage  that  Buff  on  paints  —  "  sa  ferocite'riest 
comparable  a  rien."  He  is  full  of  base  wickedness  and  inap- 
peasable  cruelty,  loves  blood  and  carnage  for  their  own 
sake,  and  longs  continually  to  fly  at  unfortunate  creatures 
with  that  tremendce  velocitatis  of  which  Pliny  speaks. 

"  What  immortal  hand  or  eye, 
Framed  thy  matchless  symmetry? 
In  what  distant  deeps  or  skies, 
Burned  that  fire  within  thine  eyes  ?  " 

writes  William  Blake,  and  then  he  asks,  "Did  He  who 
made  the  lamb  make  thee  ? "  The  French  naturalist 
and  English  poet  looked  at  the  subject  from  the  same 
standpoint.  It  was  not  necessarily  seen  wrongly  on  that 
account,  but  it  happened  that  the  view  taken  by  both  was 
an  imperfect  one.  Deeper  insight  or  more  profound 
research  would  have  resolved  uncertainty  in  the  one  case, 
and  checked  extravagance  in  the  other.  Had  they  read 
the  runes  of  nature  aright,  the  answer  to  such  questionings, 
the  rebuke  to  such  exaggerations,  would  have  been  found 
stamped  upon  the  organization  of  everything  that  lives. 
Physical  constitution  is  never  an  accident  or  a  mistake ; 
it  is  at  once  the  consequence  of  special  modes  of  existence, 
and  the  cause  of  their  continuance.  Bodily  conformation 


256  Wild  Beasts 


and  its  correlates  in  mental  structure  are  to  brutes  abso- 
lutely determinative. 

"Most  carnivorous  of  the  carnivora,"  writes  W.  N. 
Lockington  ("Riverside  Natural  History"),  "formed  to 
devour,  with  every  offensive  weapon  specialized  to  the 
utmost,  the  Felidce,  whether  large  or  small,  are  relatively 
to  their  size  the  fiercest,  strongest,  and  most  terrible  of 
beasts."  The  tiger  stands  at  their  head.  He  must  needs 
appreciate  his  destructive  power  and  feel  the  desire  to 
exercise  it.  Inherited  tendencies  and  the  pressure  of 
necessity  put  his  capabilities  into  action.  Their  exercise, 
transmitted  traits,  and  those  experiences  implied  in  habit, 
make  him  what  he  is,  —  audacious,  treacherous,  wary,  cun- 
ning, ferocious.  These  characteristics  answer  to  the  ana- 
tomical specialties  by  which  his  frame  is  distinguished,  — 
his  convoluted  and  back-reaching  forebrain,  protective 
coloring,  differentiated  and  perfectly  innervated  muscles, 
his  simple  digestive  tract,  formidable  armature,  and 
padded  feet. 


THE    PUMA 

WHAT  is  true  with  regard  to  the  present  geographical 
distribution  of  the  cats,  has  been  true  always ; 
throughout  their  fossil  history  the  greater  and  more 
formidable  Felid<z  have  been  confined  to  the  Eastern 
Hemisphere.  A  number  of  American  species  exist,  how- 
ever, ranging  from  among  the  smallest  and  most  beautiful 
forms  contained  in  this  family,  up  to  animals  that  in  de- 
structive power,  only  give  place  to  their  great  African  and 
Asiatic  allies.  The  puma  and  jaguar  have  not  filled  so 
large  a  space  in  zoological  literature  as  the  lion  and 
tiger ;  they  have  not  attracted  so  much  general  attention, 
and  are  less  known.  But  this  is,  to  a  considerable 
degree,  the  result  of  accident.  For  the  most  part,  those 
who  encountered  them  were  men  of  a  different  stamp 
from  the  famous  hunters  whose  adventures  in  Asia  and 
Africa  have  made  the  animals  of  their  forests  and  plains 
familiar  and  full  of  interest  to  so  large  a  portion  of  the 
public  in  civilized  lands. 

It  is  seldom  that  the  throngs  that  pass  before  cages 
in  which  wild  beasts  are  confined,  contain  a  spectator 
who  knows  how  perfect  a  creature  a  cat  is.  As  a  class 
these  forms  are  adjusted  to  their  place  in  nature  better 
than  other  creatures,  and  also  much  better  than  the 
s  257 


258  Wild  Beasts 


human  race.  Their  distinctive  characteristics  are  all 
strongly  marked,  and  have  persisted  from  a  period  so 
incalculably  remote,  that  the  Felida  may  in  this  respect 
be  said  to  stand  by  themselves.  "  We  have  as  yet," 
remarks  A.  R.  Wallace  ("  Geographical  Distribution  of 
Animals"),  "made  little  approach  towards  discovering 
'their  origin,'  since  the  oldest  forms  yet  found  are 
typical  and  highly  specialized  representatives  of  a  group 
which  is  itself  the  most  specialized  of  the  carnivora."  No 
one  acquainted  with  the  evidence  upon  which  this  state- 
ment rests  is  likely  to  gainsay  it,  and  its  meaning  is  not 
obscure.  The  fact  carries  with  it  a  necessary  implication 
that  animals  of  the  species  referred  to,  having  followed  a 
definite  way  of  life  longer  than  the  rest,  are  more  fit  in 
every  way  to  meet  its  requirements. 

Perhaps  the  most  striking  illustration  that  could  be 
given  of  the  reality  of  what  has  been  said,  is  the  small  dif- 
ference actually  existing  between  wild  and  domesticated 
cats.  Domestication  is  so  great  and  radical  a  change  from 
the  feral  state,  that  the  entire  constitution  of  an  animal  is 
affected, — mind  and  body,  .temper,  intelligence,  form, 
color,  fertility  and  physical  capacity,  are  all  modified.  But 
it  is  not  thorough  enough  to  do  away  with  the  traits  engen- 
dered in  the  Fetidce,  and  therefore  it  happens  that  after 
thousands  of  years,  the  house  cat  varies  from  the  wild  one  so 
little  in  important  and  distinctive  characteristics.  Cattle  and 
sheep  were  domesticated  before  the  dispersion  of  the  Aryan 
tribes ;  linguistic  evidence  places  that  fact  beyond  ques- 
tion. Cats,  however,  though  introduced  into  Europe  from 
Asia,  as  was  the  case  also  with  the  horse,  ass,  and  goat, 


The  Puma  259 


were  no  doubt  first  reclaimed  from  savage  life  in  Egypt. 
On  the  Lower  Nile  domestic  cats  were  sacred  to  Pasht, 
whom  the  Greeks  called  Bubastis,  and  identified  with  Ar- 
temis. She  was  represented  with  the  head  of  a  cat  or 
lioness,  as  was  Sechet  also,  a  divinity  equivalent  to  the 
Phoenician  Astarte. 

These  personifications  were  not  meaningless.  Bast  or 
Sechet  was  the  patroness  of  the  baser  passions  and  more 
destructive  vices.  It  was  her  part,  likewise,  to  torture 
the  condemned  in  the  lower  world.  Naturalists  (Pasto- 
phori)  belonging  to  the  faculties  established  at  "  the  hall 
of  the  ancients  "  in  Heliopolis,  and  "  the  house  of  Seti "  in 
Thebes,  knew  much  more,  and  also  much  less,  about 
zoology  and  its  allied  sciences  than  is  popularly  sup- 
posed. 

Felis  concolor,  the  puma,  cougar,  panther,  mountain  lion, 
etc.,  is  more  correctly  called  by  the  last  of  these  names  than 
by  that  of  panther,  under  which  he  is  commonly  known 
throughout  the  northern  part  of  this  continent.  In  its 
habits  the  puma  is  said,  but  not  with  any  great  degree  of 
appropriateness,  to  resemble  the  leopard  more  closely  than 
any  feline  species.  Buffon  called  it  the  American  lion,  but 
he  knew  very  little  about  this  animal,  and  his  opinion  upon 
its  character  is  of  no  special  importance.  E.  F.  im  Thurn 
(" Among  the  Indians  of  Guiana")  remarks  that  in  the 
southern  part  of  America,  and  particularly  in  Guiana,  all 
varieties  of  feral  cats  take  their  titles  from  the  kind  of 
game  upon  which  they  principally  subsist.  Thus  Felis 
concolor  is  called  "the  deer  tiger,"  Felis  nigra  the  "tapir 
tiger,"  and  Felis  macnera  the  "  peccary  tiger."  Such  may 


260  Wild  Beasts 


be  the  case  when  aborigines  are  forced  to  particularize  ; 
but  in  common  parlance  one  hears  only  the  sobriquet 
" leon"  bestowed  by  all  classes  of  people  on  the  puma. 

There  is  but  one  true  species  found  in  America,  and 
this  is  distributed  in  all  parts  of  the  continent.  The 
average  length  from  tip  to  tip  may  be  given  at  about  six 
and  a  half  feet.  In  maturity  the  skin  is  of  a  uniform 
tawny  hue  on  the  back  and  sides,  with  some  deepening 
of  shade  in  the  case  of  individuals.  Cubs  are  born  with 
dark  stripes  upon  the  body,  and  spots  on  the  neck  and 
shoulders.  Garcilasso  de  la  Vega  ("  Royal  Commentaries  ") 
speaking  of  this  beast  as  the  tutelar  of  certain  noble 
Peruvian  families,  and  probably  their  eponymous  ancestor, 
says  :  "  A  Spaniard  whom  I  knew  killed  a  large  lioness 
(female  puma)  in  the  country  of  the  Antis,  near  Cuzco. 
She  had  climbed  into  a  high  tree,  and  was  slain  by  four 
thrusts  of  a  lance.  There  were  two  whelps  in  her  body 
which  were  sons  of  a  tiger  (jaguar),  for  their  skins  were 
marked  with  the  sire's  spots." 

Like  all  Felidce  except  the  cheeta  or  hunting  leopard, 
the  limbs  have  little  free  play  ;  they  are  not  adapted  to 
continued  rapid  locomotion,  being  short  and  massive,  very 
powerful,  but  somewhat  limited  in  variety  of  action,  and 
more  capable  of  extreme  and  spasmodic  efforts  than  of 
persistent  use.  The  animal  is  very  arboreal  in  its  habits, 
and  its  climbing  powers  and  general  dexterity  are  not 
surpassed  by  any  species  belonging  to  this  family. 

Like  true  panthers,  these  cougars,  carcajous,  catamounts 
or  pumas  (the  native  title  is  sassu-arana  or  false  deer)  are, 
according  to  H.  W.  Bates  ("  The  Naturalist  on  the  River 


The  Puma  261 


Amazon  "),  accustomed  to  live  in  cliffs  and  caves,  and  they 
seem  able  to  do  without  the  constant  supply  of  water  that 
some  others  among  the  Felidce  require. 

It  is  said  that  here,  as  in  India,  the  representatives  of 
the  tiger  and  lion  do  not  live  together.  While  this  may 
be  true  in  a  general  way,  there  is  not  the  same  separate- 
ness  of  range  as  in  Asia ;  and  the  author,  in  common  with 
other  explorers,  has  found  them  in  similar  localities  on  sev- 
eral occasions.  No  accounts  have  been  given,  so  far  as 
the  present  writer  is  aware,  of  actual  conflicts  occurring 
between  the  puma  and  jaguar,  and,  in  fact,  there  could  be 
little  hope  for  the  former  in  such  a  contest,  as  his  adver- 
sary would  be  much  heavier  and  more  powerful,  equally 
active,  and  better  armed.  With  respect  to  the  grizzly 
bear,  there  is  little  doubt  that  common  report  among 
frontiersmen,  to  the  effect  that  he  is  often  assailed  by  the 
puma  and  frequently  worsted,  has  some  foundation  in  fact. 
From  two  to  four  young  are  born  together,  and  by  the  end 
of  the  first  year  these  whelps  lose  their  spots  and  stripes. 
They  are  lively  and  playful  during  infancy,  and  although  in 
them,  as  in  all  animals  so  highly  organized,  a  decided  indi- 
viduality displays  itself  from  the  first,  personal  experience 
has  convinced  the  author  that  they  possess  a  great  degree 
of  intelligence,  are  easily  taught  those  things  which  their 
faculties  enable  them  to  acquire  ;  and,  so  far  as  their  own 
interest  and  convenience  influence  conduct,  that  they 
exhibit  ludicrously  strong  preferences  and  dislikes. 

Great  strength  and  activity  are  combined  in  the  puma, 
its  armature  is  formidable,  the  brute  is  habitually  silent, 
stealthy  in  the  highest  degree,  and  full  of  the  so-called 


262  Wild  Beasts 


treachery  of  its  race.  Besides  this,  it  is  very  enterprising 
when  occasion  warrants  a  display  of  audacity,  as  well  as 
extremely  ferocious  and  blood-thirsty.  More  frequently, 
perhaps,  than  any  of  the  great  cats,  it  kills  for  the  mere 
gratification  of  its  cruel  impulses.  Dr.  Merriman  ("  Mam- 
mals of  the  Adirondacks  ")  states  that  on  level  ground  "  a 
single  spring  of  twenty  feet  is  not  uncommon  for  a  cougar," 
and  Sheppard  records  the  measurement  of  a  distance  twice 
as  great  when  the  leap  was  made  downward  from  a  ledge 
of  rock  upon  a  deer. 

Padre  Jose"  de  Acosta  ("  Historia  natural  y  moral  de  las 
Indias")  says  that  neither  the  puma  nor  the  jaguar  "is  so 
fierce  as  he  appears  to  be  in  pictures,"  though  both  will 
kill  men.  There  are,  however,  many  places  where  the 
puma  has  been  so  cowed  by  ill  success  in  his  attacks 
upon  human  beings,  that  he  avoids  them  as  much  as 
possible.  Cieza  de  Leon  and  Garcilasso  de  la  Vega 
express  themselves  to  the  same  effect.  Humboldt  found 
whole  villages  abandoned  by  their  helpless  inhabitants  in 
consequence  of  the  ravages  of  the  two  great  American 
cats,  but  Emmanuel  Liais  ("Climats,  Geologic,  Faune,  etc. 
du  Bre"sil ")  asserts  that  both  "  fune  et  d?  autre fuient  rhomme 
et  les  chiens;  m$me  un  enfant  a  cheval  leur  fait  peur"  This 
is  a  mere  repetition  of  what  has  been  asserted  without 
qualification,  proper  inquiry,  or  adequate  experience  with 
the  larger  Fetidce  in  Asia  and  Africa. 

There  is  no  need  to  argue  the  question  whether  or  not 
pumas  can  or  will  kill  men  ;  that  has  been  affirmatively 
settled  by  facts.  This  creature's  personal  courage  is  a 
different  matter.  It  is  only  a  brute ;  yet  if  any  one  studies 


The  Puma  263 


what  has  been  said  with  regard  to  this  trait,  it  will  appear 
that  most  denunciations  of  the  animal's  cowardice  rest 
upon  circumstances  under  which  it  did  not  conduct  itself 
like  a  gentleman.  A  cougar's  padded  foot,  its  short 
massive  limbs,  which  prevent  it  from  chasing  prey,  the 
brute's  great  powers  of  concealing  itself,  and  perfect 
physical  adjustment  to  sudden  and  violent  attacks,  are 
recapitulated  as  though  they  had  no  necessary  connection 
with  its  behavior,  and  were  not  inseparably  associated  with 
corresponding  peculiarities  of  character  and  habit. 

A  beast  of  prey  passes  the  active  portion  of  its  existence 
in  projecting  or  executing  acts  of  violence.  Habitual 
success  means  life,  and  failure  death.  Under  such  cir- 
cumstances, under  the  influence  of  an  experience  in  which 
by  far  the  larger  part  of  those  enterprises  undertaken 
resulted  favorably,  a  self-confidence,  incompatible  with 
cowardice,  will  ensue. 

At  the  same  time  there  seems  to  be  some  general  pre- 
conception with  respect  to  the  character  of  wild  beasts, 
such  as  converts  every  manifestation  of  prudence  into 
poltroonery.  The  clash  of  opinions  expressed  about  all  the 
more  imposing  animals  witnesses  to  the  crude  and  arbi- 
trary manner  in  which  they  have  been  formed.  With 
respect  to  this  one,  not  the  tiger  himself  has  been  the 
subject  of  more  irreconcilable  statements. 

Stories  of  puma  hunting  and  of  the  animal's  exploits 
depend,  so  far  as  their  style  is  concerned,  upon  the  place 
where  they  are  told,  and  the  experiences  of  the  narrator. 
No  hunter  of  large  game  thinks  it  anything  of  a  feat  to 
shoot  a  cougar,  yet  the  author  has  known  these  brutes 


264  Wild  Beasts 


to  fight  desperately  when  brought  to  bay,  and  in  two 
instances  their  resistance  was  sufficiently  formidable  to 
cause,  in  the  one  case  loss  of  life,  and  in  the  other  in- 
juries from  which  men  never  entirely  recovered.  Many 
such  examples  might  be  gathered,  but  they  are  neverthe- 
less exceptional.  A  puma  is  not  difficult  to  kill,  and  if  it 
is  seen  in  time,  a  properly  armed  man  must  either  be  very 
unfortunate  or  very  unfit  for  the  position  in  which  he  finds 
himself,  if  the  result  is  not  favorable.  What  is  said  of  the 
panther  and  leopard,  however,  by  Captain  Forsyth  ("  The 
Highlands  of  Central  India  ")  and  by  Sir  Samuel  Baker 
("  Wild  Beasts  and  their  Ways  ")  is  peculiarly  applicable 
to  this  animal :  it  is  almost  always  met  with  unexpectedly, 
and  no  mortal  can  say  beforehand  what  it  will  do.  If 
taken  at  advantage  and  by  surprise,  as  commonly  happens, 
a  single  man  would  not  usually  have  much  chance  at  close 
quarters.  The  writer  has,  however,  known  them  to  be 
killed  with  knives,  though  not  without  severe  injury  to  the 
victor. 

The  average  native  of  tropical  America,  while  fully 
appreciating  how  much  more  dangerous  is  the  beast  he 
calls  a  tiger,  is  quite  enough  impressed  with  the  prowess 
of  its  smaller,  though  sometimes  equally  ferocious  ally,  to 
have  his  mind  saturated  with  superstitions  concerning 
pumas.  Tapuyo  or  Mameluco  guides  will  sit  by  a  camp 
fire  and  talk  in  a  way  to  put  Acuna  or  Artieda  in  the  back- 
ground. Almost  equally  with  the  jaguar  this  creature  has 
supernatural  and  diabolic  connections.  When  its  rarely 
heard  cry  or  scream,  as  any  one  may  choose  to  call  a  sound 
so  difficult  to  describe  and  which  varies  so  greatly,  floats 


The  Puma  265 


through  the  forest,  these  natives  never  know  whether  they 
hear  a  prowling  cougar,  or  the  voice  of  that  god  from 
whom  its  race  descended.  Botos,  a  demon  of  woodland 
lakes,  guides  the  beast  to  his  prey  ;  the  basilisk  worm 
Minhocao  is  somehow  connected  with  it  in  its  designs 
against  human  beings,  and  the  deadly  man-like  Caepora 
shrieks  in  concert  with  pumas  as  they  roam  through  the 
darkness.  W.  A.  Parry  ("  The  Cougar")  says  that  its 
cry  "  can  only  be  likened  to  a  scream  of  demoniac  laugh- 
ter," and  that  the  female's  answer  to  her  mate's  call  re- 
sembles "the  wail  of  a  child  in  terrible  pain." 

James  Orton  and  Prince  Maximilian  of  Nieuwied  have 
severally  settled  it  that  cougars  are  all  abject  cowards. 
Speaking  from  personal  recollection,  the  author  feels  no 
hesitation  in  saying  that  it  required  great  singleness  of 
mind  to  come  to  this  conclusion,  and  much  dexterity  to  go 
where  they  did  and  avoid  seeing  things  which  might  have 
modified  this  conclusion. 

It  does  not  follow,  for  reasons  which  have  been  ex- 
plained at  length,  that  because  a  puma  attacks  a  grizzly 
bear  he  must  be  dangerous  to  a  man ;  or  because  numbers 
of  mem  have  undoubtedly  been  killed  in  some  places,  that 
it  should  be  formidable  to  human  beings  everywhere. 

"  When  hungry,"  says  Theodore  Roosevelt  ("  Hunting 
Trips  of  a  Ranchman  "),  "  a  cougar  will  attack  anything  it 
can  master."  Audubon,  however,  supposes  that  it  never 
ventures  to  assail  such  large  animals  as  cows  or  steers. 
William  B.  Stevenson  ("  Twenty  Years  in  South  Amer- 
ica") tells  us  how  destructive  this  creature  is  to  horses, 
and  also  how  the  more  than  half-wild  cattle  of  the  pampas 


266  Wild  Beasts 


form  into  rings  to  defend  themselves.  Captain  Flack  ("  A 
Hunter's  Experience  in  the  Southern  States  of  America") 
relates  an  incident  in  which  his  horse  was  stalked  by  a 
cougar.  S.  S.  Hill  ("Travels  in  Peru  and  Mexico")  in- 
forms us  that  "this  animal  always  flies  at  the  sight  of 
man."  G.  W.  Webber  ("The  Hunter  Naturalist")  de- 
clares that  he  "knows  hundreds  of  well-authenticated 
instances  in  which  the  cougar  or  panther  attacked  the 
early  hunters  —  springing  suddenly  upon  them  from  an 
ambush."  Many  writers  affirm  that  calves,  colts,  sheep, 
goats,  swine,  are  the  only  domestic  animals  ever  preyed 
upon,  and  a  deer  the  largest  wild  creature  which  is  de- 
stroyed. But  a  traveller  like  Charles  Darwin  was  certain 
to  observe  that,  although  in  La  Plata  "cougars  seldom 
assault  cattle  or  horses,  and  most  rarely  man,"  living 
principally  on  ostriches,  deer,  bizcacha,  etc.,  in  Chile,  they 
killed  all  those  animals  they  are  said  never  to  touch,  in- 
cluding man. 

Moreover,  we  read  dogmatic  assertions  to  the  effect  that 
pumas  always  leap  on  their  victims  from  behind,  and  break 
their  necks  by  bending  back  the  head.  Another  authority 
decides  that  this  is  so  far  from  being  the  case  that  death 
commonly  arises  from  dislocation  caused  by  a  blow  with 
the  paw ;  still  another  insists  that  the  vertebrae  are  not  dis- 
jointed at  all,  but  bitten  through,  which  is  again  denied  by 
those  who  are  convinced  that  cougars  invariably  kill  their 
prey  by  cutting  the  throat.  Much  the  same  statements  are 
made  about  everything  the  beast  does  or  is  said  to  do,  and 
the  conclusion,  which  one  familiar  with  this  kind  of  litera- 
ture comes  to,  is  that  these  conflicting  statements  are  not 


The  Puma  267 


all  false,  but  in  a  restricted  sense  all  true.  That  is  to  say, 
the  several  ways  of  destruction  mentioned  are  practised  as 
occasion  requires  or  suggests. 

One  point  at  least  with  regard  to  the  puma's  disposition 
in  certain  directions  is  more  clearly  set  forth  than  has 
been  the  case  in  respect  to  other  beasts  of  prey,  and  this 
is  the  fact  that  the  creature's  temper  has  been  greatly 
changed  by  contact  with  mankind.  The  same  thing  has 
happened  everywhere  with  all  game  hunted  successfully 
for  a  long  period ;  but  this  fact  is  ignored,  and  brutes 
whose  natures  are  different  in  some  minor  traits  from  what 
they  once  were,  are  discussed  as  if  the  special  features  now 
exhibited  had  been  always  the  same. 

C.  Barrington  Brown  ("  Canoe  and  Camp  Life  in  British 
Guiana  ")  relates  an  incident  which  occurred  while  he  was 
exploring  the  upper  courses  of  the  Cutari  and  Aramatau 
rivers.  "  One  evening,  while  returning  to  camp  along 
the  portage  path  that  we  were  cutting  at  Wonobobo  Falls, 
I  walked  faster  than  the  men,  and  got  some  two  hundred 
yards  in  advance  of  them.  As  I  rose  the  slope  of  an  un- 
even piece  of  ground,  I  saw  a  large  puma  (Felis  concolor) 
advancing  towards  me,  along  the  other  side  of  the  rise, 
with  its  nose  close  to  the  ground.  The  moment  I  saw  it 
I  stopped,  and  at  the  same  instant  it  tossed  up  its  head, 
and  seeing  me  also,  came  to  a  stand.  With  its  body  half- 
crouched,  its  head  erect,  and  its  eyes  round  and  black 
from  the  expansion  of  their  pupils  in  the  dusky  light,  it 
was  at  once  a  noble  and  appalling  sight.  I  glanced  back 
along  our  wide  path  to  see  if  any  of  the  men  were  coming, 
as  at  that  moment  I  felt  that  it  was  not  well  to  be  alone 


268  Wild  Beasts 


without  some  weapon  of  defence,  and  I  knew  that  one  of 
them  had  a  gun  ;  but  nothing  could  be  seen.  As  long  as 
I  did  not  move  the  puma  remained  motionless  also  ;  and 
thus  we  stood,  some  fifteen  yards  apart,  eyeing  each  other 
curiously.  I  had  heard  that  the  human  voice  was  potent 
in  scaring  most  wild  beasts,  and  feeling  that  the  time  had 
arrived  for  doing  something  desperate,  I  waved  my  arms 
in  the  air  and  shouted  loudly.  The  effect  on  the  animal 
was  electrical ;  it  turned  quickly  to  one  side,  and  in  two 
bounds  was  lost  in  the  forest." 

Now  why  did  this  brute  thus  behave  ?  The  narrative 
gives  not  the  least  explanation  of  its  conduct.  Brown 
thought  it  was  frightened  by  his  gestures,  because  a  few 
days  before  he  had  come  upon  a  jaguar  basking  on  a  rock 
by  the  river,  whose  serenity  was  not  at  all  disturbed  by 
the  voices  of  a  boat  full  of  men.  But  that  was  merely  a 
guess.  Very  probably  this  animal  had  never  seen  a  man 
previously,  and  almost  certainly  not  a  white  man  in  civil- 
ized costume.  There  was  then  the  profound  impressive- 
ness  of  absolute  strangeness  in  the  sight,  and  this  alone 
would  have  been  more  likely  to  alarm  a  human  being  or 
intelligent  brute  than  any  other  cause  we  know  of.  Per- 
haps the  puma  had  just  devoured  a  peccary  and  was 
gorged  ;  or  possibly  its  keen  senses  revealed  the  approach 
of  Brown's  party,  who  in  fact  appeared  almost  imme- 
diately. One  may  see  in  a  narrative  like  this,  which  is  a 
fair  specimen  of  those  relations  from  which  most  dogmatic 
conclusions  upon  the  character  of  wild  beasts  have  been 
drawn,  how  arbitrary  and  unjustifiable  they  generally  are. 

Roosevelt  states  that  a  slave  on  his  father's  plantation  in 


The  Puma  269 


Florida  was  passing  through  a  swamp  one  night,  when  he 
was  attacked  by  a  puma.  The  negro  was  "  a  man  of  colos- 
sal size  and  fierce  and  determined  temper."  Moreover,  he 
carried  one  of  the  heavy  knives  that  are  used  in  cutting 
cane.  Both  parties  were  killed  after  a  long  and  desperate 
struggle,  whose  traces  were  plainly  impressed  upon  the 
spot.  But  here  it  appears  that  a  man  was  assailed,  and 
that  the  beast  continued  its  attempts  to  kill  him  after  dis- 
covering that  he  was  armed,  and  persisted  in  its  attack  as 
long  as  life  lasted. 

One  evening  as  the  author  was  riding  towards  a  haci- 
enda in  Sinaloa,  and  was  about  half  a  league  distant  from 
it,  a  girl  rushed  to  the  edge  of  a  thicket  and  began  to 
scream  for  help.  Galloping  up,  it  appeared  she  had  just 
discovered  the  body  of  her  father,  killed  apparently  by  a 
puma,  who  lay  dead  beside  him.  Life  was  not  extinct, 
however,  although  he  was  very  badly  wounded.  He  said 
that  while  passing,  the  bellowing  of  an  ox,  mingled  with 
the  cries  of  some  kind  of  beast,  induced  him  to  make  his 
way  to  the  scene  of  action.  There  he  found  a  large  lion, 
as  he  called  it,  engaged  in  a  fight  with  a  steer,  whom  he 
had  injured  severely,  and  who  was  rapidly  losing  blood. 
As  soon  as  the  man  appeared,  the  beast  left  the  ox  and 
made  at  him.  There  was  scant  time  to  roll  his  serape 
around  his  left  arm,  and  draw  the  long  knife  which  every 
ranchero  wears  in  the  bota  on  his  right  leg,  before  he  found 
himself  in  deadly  conflict. 

In  these  three  anecdotes  we  have  a  very  clear  refutation 
by  facts  of  several  points  with  regard  to  this  brute's  char- 
acter, which  have  been  generally  accepted  as  settled. 


270  Wild  Beasts 


Wariness  and  an  entire  absence  of  all  the  sentiments 
that  produce  recklessness  in  man,  are  as  distinctly  marked 
characters  among  the  Felidce  as  their  peculiar  dentition  or 
retractile  claws ;  yet  the  author  was  informed  by  Colonel 
W.  H.  Harness  that  last  summer  (1893)  a  very  large  pan- 
ther, as  the  animal  is  called  in  West  Virginia,  walked  into 
an  extensive  logging  camp  near  the  town  of  Davis  at  mid- 
day ;  traversed  one  wing  of  the  long  building  in  which  the 
men  employed  slept,  and  without  making  any  demonstra- 
tion of  hostility  towards  those  who  fled  before  him,  entered 
their  dining-room  and  helped  himself  to  the  meat  on  the 
table  ;  after  which  he  quietly  passed  out  of  a  side  door,  and 
was  shot  from  a  window.  If  this  beast  had  been  broken 
down  with  age  or  disabled  by  accident  so  that  it  could  not 
hunt,  or  if  the  season  and  weather  had  been  such  as  to 
banish  game  from  the  vicinity,  its  conduct  might  be  com- 
prehensible. This  happened  with  an  animal  in  perfect 
physical  condition,  and  at  a  season  when  the  mountains 
were  full  of  game.  The  brute  also  must  necessarily  have 
connected  all  the  men  it  knew  anything  about  with  death- 
dealing  firearms,  and  that  it  then  should  have  walked  into 
a  crowd,  and  lost  its  life  in  this  act  of  seemingly  idiotic 
bravado,  simply  sets  at  naught  everything  that  is  known 
of  the  creature's  character  and  habits. 

Pumas,  like  Asiatic  panthers,  are  easily  caught  in  traps, 
but  independently  of  this  form  of  incapacity,  they  are  far 
from  being  wanting  in  sagacity.  Cougars  are  most  accom- 
plished hunters,  and  it  has  been  explained  how  much  that 
means.  One  of  them,  for  example,  will  sometimes  trail 
a  human  being  for  a  day's  journey  without  finding  what 


The  Puma  271 


it  considers  to  be  a  suitable  opportunity  for  making  an 
attack. 

The  best  and  most  intimate  acquaintance  with  the  char- 
acter of  a  wild  beast  comes  from  those  associations  in- 
volved in  domestication.  When  you  have  brought  up  an 
animal  and  been  with  it  constantly  day  by  day,  the  chances 
of  finding  out  what  it  is  like  are  better  than  they  could  be 
under  any  other  conditions  whatever.  Prince  Maximilian 
of  Nieuwied,  states  that  the  puma  is  "peculiarly  suscepti- 
ble of  domestication."  It  does  not  appear,  however,  that 
he  made  any  experiments  in  this  direction,  and  it  may  be 
suspected  that  if  he  had,  certain  reasons  for  modifying  his 
views  upon  the  animal's  character  would  have  suggested 
themselves  during  their  course.  A  cougar  is  a  cat,  and  in 
virtue  of  that  fact  is,  as  has  been  said,  of  all  animals  the 
least  susceptible  of  radical  change.  Sanderson  and  Barras 
make  a  wide  distinction  between  feline  species,  considered 
as  amenable  or  refractory  to  such  influences  ;  and  nothing 
is  offered  in  the  way  of  disparagement  to  their  opinions, 
provided  it  be  admitted  that  a  young  tiger  may  be  a  much 
more  amiable  and  interesting  infant  than  a  panther  cub, 
and,  according  to  Gerard,  a  lion  whelp  attaches  all  hearts 
by  its  good  qualities.  But  there  soon  comes  a  time  at 
which  traits  inherent  in  them  all  are  developed,  and  when 
they  become  strikingly  alike  in  all  their  essential  charac- 
teristics. 

The  writer  bears  in  affectionate  remembrance  a  pet 
"  panther  "  who,  from  earliest  life  until  his  complete  and 
splendid  maturity,  lived  with  him  upon  terms  of  the 
closest  companionship.  Every  one  who  seriously  studies 


272  Wild  Beasts 


anecdotes  of  brute  intelligence  and  character  must  neces- 
sarily distrust  them.  Their  authors  always,  either  directly 
or  by  implication,  put  inference  in  the  place  of  observa- 
tion, or  they  start  with  a  hypothesis,  the  tendency  of 
which  is  to  assimilate  evidence,  and  often,  no  doubt  un- 
consciously, fit  facts  to  their  own  preconceptions.  It  is 
hoped  that  the  records  of  daily  observation  here  made  use 
of  for  the  purpose  of  sketching  traits  of  character,  may 
not  prove  to  be  without  some  interest  and  value,  and  that 
their  fragmentary  and  incomplete  form  will  witness  to  the 
fact  that  nothing  is  given  which  seemed  to  be  either  specu- 
lative or  unauthentic. 

One  sultry  morning  as  the  author  sat  af  ease  in  his 
sala,  an  Indian  entered  and  said  he  had  heard  that  the 
Senor  delighted  in  wild  beasts,  so  that  having  by  the  help 
of  God,  some  saints,  and  several  friends,  slain  the  mother 
of  this  little  lion  in  the  Golden  Mountains,  he  had  brought 
it  there  as  a  mark  of  respect,  and  would  like  to  have  seven 
Spanish  dollars.  Here  he  unrolled  his  serape  and  depos- 
ited a  ball  of  indistinctly  striped  and  spotted  fur  upon  the 
floor.  In  that  manner  this  puma  of  pumas  came  into  the 
keeping  of  his  guardian. 

The  latter  impressed  with  a  sense  of  the  responsibilities 
attaching  to  the  position  in  which  he  was  placed,  at  once 
sprinkled  the  cub  with  red  wine  and  called  it  Gato,  —  a  pro- 
cedure it  resented  as  if  the  spirit  of  Constantine  Caprony- 
mus  himself  had  entered  into  its  sinful  little  body.  The 
rage  of  infancy,  however,  does  not  endure,  and  Gato 
shortly  "  serened  himself,"  to  use  the  idiom  of  the  coun- 
try, where  these  things  took  place.  He  inspected  his  new 


The  Puma  273 


acquaintance,  rubbed  up  against  him,  had  his  head 
scratched  with  much  complacency,  and  graciously  ate  as 
much  as  he  could  hold.  Thus  we  made  friends,  and  the 
compact  was  ever  after  kept  by  both  parties,  each  in  his 
own  way. 

The  panther's  way  was  a  very  simple  one.  It  consisted 
in  looking  to  the  being  he  had  come  in  contact  with  for 
everything  he  wanted,  and  resolutely  refusing  to  enter 
into  intimate  communications  with  any  one  else.  Nobody 
who  knew  him  could  say  that  the  least  feeling  of  affec- 
tion ever  warmed  his  heart,  but  it  was  plain  enough  that 
while  he  contemned  the  human  race,  one  man  was  toler- 
ated, and  a  distinction  made  between  him  and  all  others. 
Some  individuals  he  detested  at  first  sight,  and  resented 
the  slightest  approach  to  familiarity.  For  the  remainder 
he  entertained  a  quiet  contempt ;  but  as  for  fearing  them, 
nothing  was  further  from  his  thoughts.  So  far  as  that 
went,  it  is  very  doubtful  whether  he  ever  felt  any  real 
dread  of  his  guardian.  Some  feeling  akin  to  respect  may 
have  existed  in  his  mind.  His  powers  of  observation  were 
keen  and  quick,  he  saw  that  this  particular  person  differed 
in  appearance  from  those  about  him,  acted  differently, 
and  was  somehow  or  other  not  the  same  as  they.  If  he 
got  into  difficulties,  and  was  likely  to  suffer  the  conse- 
quences of  misconduct,  hostilities  against  him  ceased  when 
his  friend  appeared  upon  the  scene;  he  understood  this 
perfectly,  and  took  refuge  with  him  when  danger  threat- 
ened. As  was  said,  Gato  had  no  affectionate  impulses  so 
far  as  could  be  certainly  known.  When  he  wanted  to  be 
stroked,  or  was  hungry,  or  wished  to  play,  or  felt  insecure, 
T 


274  Wild  Beasts 


he  came  to  his  guardian,  followed  him  about,  and  lay 
beside  him.  Moreover,  the  little  savage  was  jealous.  If 
he  beheld  a  dog  it  always  put  him  in  a  passion  to  see 
it  coming  towards  his  master  to  be  caressed.  He  would 
fly  to  get  ahead,  dance  about,  jump  on  his  knee,  and  growl 
and  show  his  teeth  with  every  sign  of  anger  against  the 
intruder  upon  his  rights. 

Colonel  Julius  Barras  ("  India  and  Tiger  Hunting ") 
speaks  of  the  jealousy  shown  by  tiger  cubs  in  his  possession, 
but  whereas  he  was  satisfied  that  this  was  an  expression  of 
tenderness  towards  himself,  the  writer  thinks  it  more 
likely  to  have  been  an  exhibition  of  selfishness.  Gato 
manifested  at  a  very  early  age  an  appreciation  of  his  own 
possessions,  and  a  determination  to  do  things  after  his 
own  fashion.  So  far  from  checking  this  by  force,  his 
guardian  encouraged  it,  and  after  having  come  to  a  clear 
understanding  with  him  on  the  subject  of  biting  and  claw- 
ing, left  him  alone  to  follow  his  own  devices.  He  was  a 
very  sagacious  personage,  and  there  was  not  a  drop  of 
cowardly  blood  in  his  whole  body.  When  he  was  a  baby 
there  was  little  to  distinguish  him,  while  at  rest,  from  some 
domestic  cats,  but  he  no  sooner  began  to  move  about  than 
his  free  wild  air,  the  unmistakable  style  of  savagery  that 
stamped  every  action,  showed  him  in  another  way.  It 
may  be  added  that,  being  left  free  to  exhibit  his  individ- 
uality, and  not  having  his  family  and  personal  characteris- 
tics marred  or  masked  by  enforced  restraint  until  the 
creature  grew  dull,  apathetic,  and  half  imbecile,  he  was  as 
pretty  a  specimen  of  feline  peculiarity  as  any  one  could 
expect  to  see.  Nothing  was  clearer  to  him  than  that  the 


The  Puma  275 


many-colored  rug  he  was  accustomed  to  lie  on  was  his 
own.  He  had  favorite  places  in  which  to  sleep,  meditate, 
and  make  observations.  It  would  have  been  disagreeable 
indeed  for  any  servant  about  the  establishment  to  take  off 
his  bright  silver  collar  after  he  grew  to  any  size,  and  when 
he  captured  anything  and  put  it  away,  that  article  became 
his  private  property,  and  he  had  no  notion  of  giving  it  up. 
Candor  compels  the  admission  that  flattering  as  would 
have  been  some  tokens  of  disinterested  affection,  he  never 
gave  any.  What  he  did  was  to  please  himself.  When  he 
had  no  desire  to  be  taught,  which  was  often  the  case,  a 
more  stupid,  sulky,  and  unsatisfactory  pupil  could  not  be 
imagined ;  but  when  his  interest  happened  to  be  excited  he 
was  quickness  itself,  and  he  seldom  forgot.  One  might 
as  well  have  caressed  a  stuffed  cat,  or  tried  to  romp  with 
a  dead  one,  as  to  have  expected  any  recognition  of  ad- 
vances in  these  directions  when  Senor  Gato  felt  disposed 
to  contemplation,  and  if  compelled,  as  of  course  was  the 
case  sometimes,  to  do  anything  against  his  humor,  he  was 
not  accustomed  to  leave  any  doubt  about  the  disgust  and 
anger  which  possessed  him.  From  first  to  last,  always, 
and  under  all  circumstances,  he  like  Richard,  was  "him- 
self alone,"  and  never  stooped  to  the  snobbishness  of  pre- 
tence. Thus  it  happened  that  although  under  fostering 
care  and  paternal  rule  the  creature  grew  in  grace  continu- 
ally, he  never  became  fitted  to  adorn  general  society. 
The  asperity  of  his  nature  easily  showed  itself  ;  the  wild 
beast  broke  through  the  habitual  dignity  of  his  demeanor 
on  small  provocation.  Not  even  that  to  him,  extraordi- 
nary person  with  whom  he  was  most  intimate,  and  whose 


276  Wild  Beasts 


resources  so  powerfully  impressed  his  mind,  might  pull 
his  ears  or  twist  his  tail  after  he  grew  up.  This  was  to 
pass  the  proper  limits  of  familiarity,  and  whenever  it 
happened  he  crouched  and  glared  with  glistening  fangs. 
That  was  all,  however ;  no  act  of  hostility  followed. 

Gato  began  to  stalk  his  guardian  at  an  early  age,  but 
soon  learned  that  a  statue  of  St.  John  the  Evangelist  was 
not  alive,  and  gave  up  his  practices  against  the  Apostle. 
He  discovered  likewise  the  illusory  character  of  shadows, 
which  at  one  time  were  taken  to  be  substantialities,  and 
somehow  or  other  satisfied  his  mind  about  his  own  reflec- 
tion in  a  fountain  when  the  wind  ruffled  its  surface.  This 
gave  him  much  concern  for  a  while.  Being  accustomed 
to  look  at  himself  in  a  glass,  and  to  stand  with  his  fore- 
paws  on  the  edge  of  the  basin  and  see  his  reflection  in 
still  water,  what  perplexed  and  excited  him  was  the  fact 
that  it  sometimes  looked  as  if  it  moved  while  he  was 
motionless.  Whether  he  found  out  about  the  ripple,  no- 
body knows,  but  he  stopped  tearing  round  the  fountain 
and  peering  into  it  to  see  this  thing  from  different  posi- 
tions. 

It  was  not  until  he  was  quite  a  good-sized  animal  that 
the  pretence  of  killing  his  guardian  was  given  up.  As  the 
gravity  of  age  grew  upon  him,  and  those  engaging  pas- 
times of  his  childhood  gave  way  before  the  development 
of  inherent  traits,  these  playful  hunts  became  more  rare 
and  finally  ceased.  Both  of  us  fully  understood  that  this 
stalking  business  was  nothing  but  fun.  In  fact,  Gato 
never  fully  entered  into  the  spirit  of  his  part  or  displayed 
his  powers  to  their  greatest  advantage,  unless  he  was 


The  Puma  277 


closely  watched.  Then,  however,  his  acting  was  perfect. 
He  got  as  far  off  as  possible  in  the  long,  gallery-like  room, 
fastened  his  glowing  eyes  upon  the  pretended  victim,  and 
from  first  to  last  showed  how  complete  are  the  teachings 
of  heredity,  both  in  all  that  he  did  and  avoided  doing. 
Nothing  that  could  favor  his  approach  was  neglected,  no 
mistake  was  made.  The  furniture  might  be  differently 
arranged  with  design,  lights  and  shadows  changed,  new 
places  of  concealment,  from  which  he  could  make  his 
mimic  attack,  constructed ;  but  the  animal's  tactics  never 
failed  to  alter  in  accordance  with  these  arrangements,  and 
to  be  the  best  that  circumstances  admitted  of.  There  is 
no  doubt  that  he  admired  himself  greatly,  and,  so  far  as  it 
was  possible  to  judge,  commendation  was  very  pleasing. 
He  always  expected  to  be  complimented  and  caressed 
after  darting  from  an  ambush  which  had  been  reached  with 
much  precaution,  and  he  reared  up  and  rubbed  his  head 
against  his  friend,  asking  for  praise  as  plainly  as  possible. 
This  account  is  not  intended  to  convey  any  principles 
of  zoopsychology,  but  to  record  special  facts  relating  to  an 
animal  whose  family  the  author  looks  upon  as  exceptional 
in  respect  to  their  savagery,  and  who  was  himself,  so  far 
as  the  closest  observation  will  warrant  one  in  making  a 
sweeping  statement  about  a  wild  beast,  not  recognizably 
different  in  his  characteristics  from  other  members  of  the 
race  he  belonged  to,  or  average  individuals  of  allied  species. 
"  Magnum  hereditatis  mysterium  "  is  a  truth  relating  to 
the  process  of  heredity  alone ;  it  has  nothing  to  do  with 
the  fact  that  like  produces  like,  or  that  traits,  from  the 
most  generalized  to  those  which  are  special,  are  undoubt- 


278  Wild  Beasts 


edly  transmitted.  Here  was  a  creature  developed  through 
immemorial  generations  into  a  typical  state  of  body  and 
mind.  So  far  as  the  result  is  concerned,  it  does  not  make 
the  least  difference  whether  this  end  was  attained  in  the 
manner  pointed  out  by  Darwin,  or  Galton,  or  Weismann. 
In  Gato  the  whole  personality,  every  faculty  and  feeling, 
the  functional  and  structural  peculiarities  of  all  his  tissues 
and  tissue  elements,  were  stamped  with  that  impress  which 
the  entire  life  of  his  savage  ancestry  entailed.  On  what 
grounds  can  it  be  supposed  that  such  perfectly  superficial 
influences,  as  were  brought  to  bear  upon  him  while  under 
restraint,  produce  any  radical  change  ?  The  alteration  in 
demeanor  manifested  towards  one  person,  and  probably 
effected  through  that  self-interest  which,  in  its  general 
aspect,  is  exhibited  by  all  the  higher  animals,  did  not  show 
that  he  had  been,  so  to  speak,  inoculated  with  civilized 
sentiments.  On  the  contrary,  he  gave  a  flat  denial  to  that 
opinion  every  day,  and  was  as  essentially  a  puma,  pure  and 
simple,  at  the  hour  of  his  death,  as  if  he  had  never  seen  a 
man. 

It  would,  however,  be  a  singular  course  of  reasoning  by 
which  the  inference  that  all  pumas  were  the  same  was 
drawn  from  this  statement.  Besides  the  congenital  varia- 
tion that,  to  conceal  our  ignorance,  we  say  is  involved  in 
the  plasticity  of  life,  every  organism  has  certain  acquired 
differences.  Life  is  no  more  than  a  state  dependent  upon 
continuous  adjustments,  and  it  can  never  exist  in  an  iden- 
tical degree  in  separate  beings,  because  neither  the  con- 
'ditions  themselves,  nor  the  power  to  fit  body  or  mind  to 
circumstances,  is  ever  the  same  in  different  individuals. 


The  Puma  279 


Evolved  structures,  functions,  and  qualities  in  groups, 
will  be  similar;  for  animals  of  all  kinds  must  resemble 
their  direct  progenitors  ;  but  individuality  is  not  extin- 
guished, and  as  the  race  rises  in  capacity,  or  its  members 
vary  from  an  average,  personal  traits  become  salient,  and 
those  dissimilarities  produced  by  alterations  in  the  process 
by  which  existence  is  maintained,  appear  more  prominently. 

Almost  the  entire  body  of  emotions  which  Gato  possessed 
as  a  beast  of  prey,  as  well  as  his  moral  and  intellectual 
traits,  were  beyond  the  reach  of  any  modifications  that 
could  be  made  artificially.  He  was  morose,  cruel,  treacher- 
ous, and  blood-thirsty ;  but,  it  does  not  follow  that  he  was 
absolutely  so,  or  that,  when  compared  with  other  pumas, 
these  characteristics  of  his  species  were  equally  pronounced. 
Observation  enables  the  writer  to  say  that  this  animal  was 
more  intelligent,  tractable,  responsive,  and  reliable  than 
any  other  beast  of  the  same  kind  with  which  he  ever  was 
brought  into  close  association. 

A  direct  parallel  between  men,  even  barbarous  men,  and 
brutes  will  always  fail.  We  do  not  know  enough  of  the 
mental  organization  of  either  even  to  apply  terms  justly; 
and  more  than  this,  the  difference  between  them  in  develop- 
mental states  is  so  great  that  while  the  phenomena  of  both 
are  of  the  same  order,  and  the  language  used  in  describing 
one  is  applicable  to  the  other,  there  are  not  close  enough 
likenesses  between  them  to  make  comparisons  possible. 
Those  who  have  attempted  to  frame  psychological  schemes, 
vitiated  their  work  for  the  most  part  by  a  false  method,  or 
invalidated  the  conclusions  arrived  at,  in  consequence  of 
preconceptions  which  biassed  the  temper  in  which  evidence 


28o  Wild  Beasts 


was  examined.  Dr.  W.  L.  Lindsay  ("  Mind  in  the  Lower 
Animals  in  Health  and  Disease")  recognized  the  relation- 
ship between  psychical  manifestations  wherever  they  took 
place,  yet  the  influence,  as  in  his  case,  of  this,  among  many 
other  hypotheses,  was  almost  certain  to  make  itself  felt  in  the 
manner  in  which  facts  were  regarded.  On  the  other  hand, 
Professor  Prantl  ("  Reformgedanken  zur  Logik  ")  excogi- 
tated a  metaphysical  system  for  beasts  from  the  stand- 
point of  an  assumption  that  the  chasm  which  separated 
them  from  humanity  was  impassable.  He  admits  their 
resemblance  in  essential  nature.  He  agrees  that  the  dis- 
similarities which  they  exhibit  are  results  of  a  difference 
in  evolutionary  degree,  and  then  his  whole  argument  goes 
to  show  that  this  is  not  the  case,  and  that  brute  mind  and 
human  intellect  are  radically  distinct  in  structure  and  func- 
tion. As  this  analysis  of  the  intelligence  in  mankind  and 
inferior  beings  was  made  without  reference  to  facts,  it  is 
not  surprising  that  they  should  be  traversed  by  these  in  all 
directions,  and  that  almost  everything  which  the  Professor 
asserts  to  be  impossible,  is  well  known  to  naturalists  as  a 
matter  of  actual  occurrence. 

Gato  himself  set  at  naught  many  of  his  conclusions. 
He  may  not  have  exhibited  either  love,  gratitude,  sense  of 
duty,  or  that  spirit  of  self-sacrifice  which  dogs  frequently,  and 
other  animals  sometimes,  display,  and  there  was  no  oppor- 
tunity for  judging  of  his  social  instincts ;  but  he  certainly 
possessed  the  "  time  sense  "  that  Prantl  attributes  exclu- 
sively to  man.  His  account  of  periods  and  seasons  was  as 
accurate  as  possible  ;  he  measured  intervals  and  knew  when 
they  came  to  an  end.  Whether  the  ability  to  count  beyond 


The  Puma  281 


three  existed,  it  was  impossible  to  determine.  The  three 
copper  balls  he  used  to  play  with  were  exactly  alike,  and  if 
one  was  missing,  its  absence  never  failed  to  be  noticed  at 
once.  If  it  occurred  to  him  that  it  had  been  taken  away 
intentionally,  he  got  angry  or  sulky,  as  the  case  might  be. 
During  one  part  of  his  wardship,  the  periodical  absences  of 
his  only  friend  put  him  out  greatly,  because,  so  far  as  actions 
revealed  the  creature's  feelings,  they  interfered  with  his 
comfort.  He  became  dangerous  when  grown,  and  occu- 
pied a  room  by  himself,  from  which  he  was  not  removed 
while  his  guardian  was  gone.  Under  ordinary  circum- 
stances he  was  released  for  several  hours  every  night,  and 
when  the  time  came,  if  there  was  any  delay,  he  began  to 
call  upon  his  comrade  to  let  him  out,  and  grew  fierce  if  not 
attended  to.  No  one  ever  knew  him  to  take  any  violent 
exercise  in  this  apartment,  but  the  gymnastic  perform- 
ances he  went  through  outside  were  worth  seeing.  After 
being  confined  in  solitude  a  couple  of  days,  which  was  the 
length  of  time  his  friend  generally  remained  absent,  his 
eagerness  to  see  him  back  became  excessive,  according  to 
all  reports.  He  was  restless,  savage,  and  sometimes 
refused  to  eat  on  the  last  evening.  The  servants  said  that 
long  before  they  themselves  heard  the  horse's  tread,  it 
might  be  known  from  Gato  that  his  liberator  was  coming. 
But  he  never  welcomed  him  as  a  dog  or  horse  will  do. 
He  was  full  of  exuberant  vitality,  endowed  with  an  intelli- 
gent interest  in  the  strange  things  around  him,  which  he 
studied  with  continued  interest,  and  inspired  with  an 
inherited  passion  for  liberty.  This  always  showed  itself 
first,  No  sooner  was  the  door  opened  than  he  <Ja,rt^(J  out, 


282  Wild  Beasts 


intoxicated  with  being  free,  and  it  was  not  until  nervous 
tension  had  been  relieved  by  violent  muscular  motion,  that 
he  bethought  himself  of  other  matters. 

To  sit  and  watch  a  man  take  himself  to  pieces  was 
pleasing  but  puzzling.  It  was  evident  that  boots  were  part 
of  the  body,  because  his  nose  told  him  so.  How  could 
they  be  taken  off,  and  why  had  these  feet  their  claws 
behind  ?  A  sword  and  pistol  did  not  perplex  his  mind, 
apparently,  as  much  as  the  foot  gear  and  spurs.  The 
rapier  he  admired,  like  all  bright  objects,  but  the  firearm 
excited  distrust  as  being,  perhaps,  capable  of  going  off 
spontaneously.  He  knew  about  revolvers,  but  placed  no 
confidence  in  them  whatever.  Having  presided  over  the 
strange  process  of  taking  off  one  skin  and  putting  on 
another,  inspected  the  articles  of  clothing  removed,  and 
assured  himself  that  those  assumed  had  really  become  part 
of  the  incomprehensible  being  who  did  these  things,  he 
was  ready  for  his  own  toilet,  which  was  confined  to  a  gentle 
brushing  of  the  head.  This  was  expected,  however,  and 
was  suggested  if  it  did  not  come  soon  enough.  Then  he 
was  ready  to  go  to  dinner,  a  pleasing  interlude  during 
which  his  manners  were  marked  with  the  greatest  elegance 
and  discretion.  It  was  not  appetite  that  moved  Gato  — 
he  had  gratified  that  before ;  it  was  the  performance 
itself. 

Forks,  for  instance,  those  queer  talons  that  were  picked 
up  and  laid  down,  excited  his  curiosity.  He  examined 
them,  he  ate  from  one  with  propriety,  their  glitter  attracted 
him,  but  he  did  not  understand  the  rationale  of  such  devices, 
and  their  use  never  failed  to  fix  his  attention.  Moreover, 


The  Puma  283 


on  occasions  when  the  amenities  of  social  intercourse  were 
in  order,  he  was  peaceable  enough ;  not  affable  by  any  means, 
for  he  never  noticed  the  attendants  or  appeared  to  be  con- 
scious of  their  presence.  Smoking  afforded  this  observant 
creature  much  satisfaction.  Smoke  itself,  if  puffed  in  his 
face,  displeased  him,  but  the  preliminaries,  striking  a  match, 
and  the  wreaths  that  floated  away  and  vanished,  all  this  he 
liked  and  pondered  upon,  as  he  did  on  certain  pictures 
hung  around,  and  everything  that  for  reasons  which  can 
only  be  guessed  at,  excited  wonder.  Professor  Prantl  lays 
down  the  law  that  a  beast  cannot  think  logically  ;  neverthe- 
less, and  apart  from  other  facts  which  refute  that  decision, 
it  was  perfectly  plain  that  Gato  solved  some  problems  im- 
plying this  power.  After  a  course  of  observations  and 
experiments,  it  was  discovered  by  him  that  shadows  were 
not  alive  because  they  moved,  and  then  these  ceased 
to  be  pursued.  Much  study  was  requisite  to  arrive  at  a 
conclusion  that  the  sunbeams  reflected  from  a  mirror  were 
of  the  same  inanimate  nature.  This  was  settled  to  his 
satisfaction  only  after  great  research.  The  creature  saw 
this  thing  done  time  and  again  before  convincing  himself  of 
the  resemblance  between  those  luminous  shadows  and  the 
dark  spectra  which  had  formerly  deceived  him. 

Gato  grew  graver  with  age,  and  abandoned  many  amuse- 
ments in  which  he  had  at  one  time  taken  delight.  It 
seemed  to  his  guardian  that  there  was  a  steady  develop- 
ment of  his  intellect,  which  showed  itself  in  everything  he 
did.  It  would  be  too  much  to  say  that  he  was  capable  of 
thinking  about  his  own  thoughts,  but  who  shall  decide 
that  he  was  not  ?  With  consciousness,  memory,  and  a 


284  Wild  Beasts 


strong  sense  of  personal  identity  ;  filled  with  innate  ten- 
dencies, through  the  medium  of  which  he  interpreted 
external  impressions  ;  prone  to  contemplations  that,  as  his 
eye  and  changing  attitudes  indicated,  were  not  vague,  apa- 
thetic dreams,  no  one  can  know  that  he  did  not  revive 
mental  states  and  meditate  on  centrically  initiated  ideas. 

Personally,  and  so  far  as  mere  individual  opinion  unsup- 
ported by  proof  goes,  the  conviction  in  his  friend's  mind 
is  that  he  did.  Often,  as  with  all  cats,  his  brain  was  torpid. 
Unconscious  cerebration,  no  doubt,  went  on,  but  only  dim, 
transient  images  floated  into  the  field  of  consciousness, 
and  fragmentary,  isolated,  shadow-like  pictures  of  outward 
things  were  presented  to  the  "mind's  eye."  It  was  plain 
enough  when  he  was  in  this  semi-somnolent  condition,  and 
the  difference  between  it  and  the  active  exercise  of  faculty 
upon  something  within  himself,  was  unmistakable.  He 
thought,  but  how,  and  about  what  ?  In  his  realm  of  that 
ideal  world  so  little  of  which  has  been  explored  by  man, 
subjective  processes  transpired  such  as  we  have  no  clue 
to  and  no  measure  for.  The  contents  of  mind,  however, 
must  be  derivations  from  experience  in  a  wild  beast  as  much 
as  in  a  human  being.  What  he  had  observed,  seen,  felt,  and 
remembered  in  that  form  which  his  own  organization  con- 
ferred, were  manifested  characteristically :  that  is  to  say, 
when  vivid  imaginations  excited,  or  external  sense-notices 
aroused  him,  the  beast  of  prey  awoke  at  once.  The  same 
most  likely,  or  rather,  most  certainly,  must  have  been  true 
of  all  mental  conditions,  but  while  the  animal  remained 
impassive,  the  fact  was  indiscernible.  When  this  savage 
warrior  lay  before  his  companion's  arm-chair,  and  looked 


The  Puma  285 


straight  in  his  eyes  with  fixed  intensity,  calling  to  mind, 
perhaps,  the  things  he  knew  about  this  man,  it  was  natural 
that  recollections  of  trainers'  confidences,  accounts  given 
by  travellers  and  hunters,  one's  own  experiences,  the  many 
superstitions  of  civilized  and  savage  peoples,  should  suggest 
ideas  which  had  a  tendency  to  color  and  distort  observation 
upon  the  part  of  his  vis-a-vis. 

No  one,  however,  who  was  not  under  the  influence  of  a 
fixed  prejudice,  could  have  looked  into  Gato's  unfaltering 
orbs  and  seen  there  any  confirmation  of  the  common  belief 
that  brutes  such  as  he  are  only  restrained  by  fear ;  or  that 
they  have  an  instinctive  sense  of  reverence  and  awe  in  the 
presence  of  human  beings.  All  the  respect  this  one  felt 
for  his  guardian  he  learned.  Besides  that,  he  had  super- 
stitions concerning  him.  In  maturity  his  great  size,  and 
reports  of  the  wisdom  he  had  attained  to,  made  the  ani- 
mal famous,  so  that  many  persons  desired  to  see  him  — 
that  is,  through  the  grating  at  his  door.  But  strangers 
found  no  favor  with  this  misanthropist,  and  he  disliked 
being  stared  at.  Thus,  after  regarding  such  intruders  with 
a  stern  countenance,  and  taking  no  notice  of  his  friend 
under  these  degrading  circumstances,  he  affected  to  be 
unconscious  that  anybody  was  there,  or  else  deliberately 
turned  his  back  upon  the  visitors.  For  a  time  it  was  sup- 
posed that  this  mark  of  contempt  occurred  accidentally. 
Gato  could  have  had  no  conception  of  the  significance  of 
this  act  as  it  is  understood  in  civilized  society,  but  he  did 
it  for  reasons  of  his  own,  and  at  length  quite  evidently  on 
purpose. 

As  was  said,  curiosity,  which  is  always   indicative  of 


286  Wild  Beasts 


mental  development,  was  an  unusually  prominent  trait  in 
his  character.  There  were  numbers  of  things  to  which  he 
paid  no  attention,  but  when  an  act  attracted  his  notice 
and  was  constantly  performed,  it  appeared  to  require  inves- 
tigation, and  he  applied  himself  to  the  subject  in  a  manner 
quite  different  from  that  superior  air  with  which  ordinary 
matters  were  regarded.  Books  amazed  Gato.  Nothing 
could  be  made  out  with  regard  to  them  by  means  of  scent 
or  sight :  they  were  dead  apparently,  and  not  fit  to  eat. 
What  was  in  them  that  never  came  out  ?  Why  should 
they  be  watched  so  closely  ?  This  -question  he  never 
found  any  satisfactory  answer  to,  and  one  might  see  that 
it  often  perplexed  him.  When  he  was  little,  reading  made 
him  jealous,  and  he  put  his  paws  on  the  page  and  invited 
his  friend  to  play.  This  mysterious  occupation  lost  its 
novelty  in  time,  and  the  desire  to  romp  passed  away,  but 
frequently  in  after  days  when  he  observed  his  companion 
turn  towards  the  bookcase  and  get  up,  he  escorted  him  to 
the  shelves,  scrutinized  the  way  in  which  he  looked  for  a 
volume,  or  turned  over  the  leaves  of  several,  and  went  back 
to  see  if  anything  was  at  last  coming  to  light  about  this 
strange  and  constant  occupation. 

Gato  resolutely  refused  to  learn  English.  Why  he  pre- 
ferred Spanish,  no  one  knows,  but  he  did,  and  would  only 
respond  to  communications  made  in  that  tongue.  Habit 
and  association  had  much  to  do  with  this,  no  doubt,  but 
there  is  reason  to  think  that  a  distaste  for  our  vernacular 
was  one  of  the  many  prejudices  which,  in  a  measure,  de- 
tracted from  those  qualities  which  embellished  his  char- 
acter. His  guardian  discoursed  to  him  at  length  ;  taught 


The  Puma  287 


him  to  do  and  leave  undone  numerous  things,  but  had  to 
use  the  only  idiom  his  pupil  chose  to  acquire  any  knowl- 
edge of.  If  he  were  called  in  English,  the  perverse  creature 
would  not  come.  He  stood  and  stared  like  an  obstinate 
child.  More  than  this,  if  he  understood,  as  no  doubt  he 
sometimes  did,  and  even  wanted  to  do  what  was  commanded, 
but  could  not,  because  he  had  made  up  his  mind  never  to 
do  anything  unless  spoken  to  properly,  he  got  angry. 
There  is  no  doubt  in  the  writer's  mind  that  this  is  a  fact, 
and  that  the  prejudice  referred  to  existed.  Force  might 
have  been  resorted  to,  of  course,  but  that  would  have  had 
the  effect  of  deforming  his  nature  after  every  effort  had 
been  made  to  leave  it  to  its  natural  expansion,  except  in 
so  far  as  its  tendencies  were  prevented  from  expressing 
themselves  in  homicidal  acts. 

Langworthy,  "the  lion-tamer,"  as  the  posters  called  him, 
used  to  say  that  feline  beasts,  after  coming  to  know  one, 
were  infallible  physiognomists,  but  that  they  had  to  learn 
a  face  before  being  able  to  understand  its  expressions  ; 
also  that  they  only  read  the  signs  of  anger  and  fear,  and 
never  looked  for  anything  else,  not  caring  about  approval 
or  kindness,  because  all  the  great  cats  were  destitute  of 
affection.  Lions,  tigers,  leopards,  and  the  rest,  he  believed, 
scrutinized  the  countenance  chiefly  to  see  if  a  man  were 
afraid.  If  so,  no  assumed  look  could  conceal  the  fact,  and 
they  instantly  became  dangerous.  Privately  he  scouted 
the  idea  that  there  was  any  power  to  overawe  animals  in 
one  person  rather  than  another,  and  held  that  the  sole  dif- 
ference between  men  in  this  respect  depended  upon  quick- 
ness of  observation,  and  especially  upon  fearlessness. 


288  Wild  Beasts 


In  the  main  this  squares  with  what  is  known  of  com- 
parative psychology,  and  of  the  Felidce  in  particular.  But 
like  most  sweeping  assertions  upon  beasts  or  men,  it  is  not 
wholly  accurate.  Many  animals  are  exceedingly  vain, 
nearly  or  possibly  quite  as  much  so  as  savage  men,  and 
vainer  they  could  not  be.  Now  this  trait  is  inseparable  from 
a  desire  for  praise,  and  although  it  is  no  more  necessary  to 
feel  any  respect  or  affection  for  the  persons  who  gratify 
this  longing,  than  it  is  to  love  people  because  they  are  able 
to  excite  jealousy,  creatures  with  such  a  disposition  will 
always  solicit  approbation,  and  be  pleased  when  it  is 
accorded.  Certainly  this  was  the  case  with  Gato,  who  was 
fond  of  display,  and  delighted  in  being  noticed  and  ad- 
mired ;  who  did  many  things  for  the  express  purpose  of 
being  praised,  and  claimed  commendation  as  plainly  as  if 
he  had  been  able  to  speak. 

The  faces  of  brutes,  similarly  with  those  of  human  races 
which  differ  greatly  in  appearance  from  the  observer,  at  first 
all  look  alike.  But  afterwards  one  begins  to  discriminate, 
and  finally  distinguishes  differences  between  them,  and 
changes  in  the  same  individual  at  different  times.  While 
Gato  lay  by  the  fountain  listening  to  the  wind  murmur 
through  the  great  tamarind  boughs  that  shaded  him,  heard 
the  water  fall,  saw  the  fleecy  trade-wind  clouds  sail  slowly 
overhead,  and  was  evidently  neither  asleep  nor  lethargic, 
but  keenly  observant  of  every  sight  and  sound,  how  easy 
would  it  have  been  to  fit  his  reflections  to  the  scene ;  "  to 
opine  probably  and  prettily,"  as  Bacon  expresses  it,  and 
provide  the  chained  savage  with  poetic  resignation,  or  in- 
dignant sorrow,  to  make  him  feel  and  think  in  forms 


The  Puma  289 


as  far  from  reality  as  the  vapors  that  floated  above 
him  were  far  from  being  the  substantial  masses  they 
seemed.  Such  writings,  eloquent  and  interesting  as  they 
often  are,  do  a  positive  disservice  to  science.  Think,  he 
did  :  that  was  to  be  seen  in  the  eye  that  softened  or  grew 
stern ;  in  its  far-away  or  introverted  expression,  or  quick 
scrutinizing  glance ;  in  the  smoothed  or  corrugated  brow, 
the  quivering,  contracted,  or  placid  lips  ;  in  attitudes  in- 
definably expressive,  and  variations  of  his  ensemble  that 
cannot  be  described. 

How  should  human  insight  penetrate  this  underworld 
of  the  intellect  ?  All  things  definite  there  were  transmi- 
grations of  his  own  experiences  under  the  stress  of  hered- 
ity. What  was  emotional,  unformed,  and  yet  operative, 
was  the  bequest  of  a  wild  and  free  ancestry  that  sent  down 
their  tendencies  and  traits,  gave  him  his  organization,  and, 
with  a  certainty  as  inevitable  as  death,  stamped  everything 
that  he  could  think  or  feel  with  their  "own  form  and  im- 
press." His  ideas  were  reproductions;  his  emotions  rose 
into  consciousness  from  unknown  depths.  The  latter  set 
him  upon  the  verge  of  what  his  predecessors  realized, 
vaguely  revealed  their  past,  prompted  those  unrecognizable 
half-memories  that  are  born  with  every  being,  prepared 
him  for  possibilities  from  which  captivity  cut  him  off, 
stirred  his  heart,  and  made  life  and  the  earth  all  that  they 
were  or  could  be  to  him. 

Varying  phases  of  mind  as  outwardly  evinced,  mani- 
fested themselves  clearly  in  Gato's  behavior  and  in  his 
changes  of  temper.  Those  serene  meditations  which  had 
sway  during  beautiful  days,  and  in  the  calm  of  tropical 


290  Wild  Beasts 


nights,  bore  little  likeness  to  states  of  tension  that  some- 
times possessed  him  when  the  storms  of  the  rainy  season 
set  in.  If  an  African  lion  is  to  be  seen  in  his  glory,  he 
must  be  looked  at  by  the  lightning's  glare.  It  is  amid 
tempest  and  gloom  that  the  full  proportions  of  his  nature 
come  forth.  So  with  this  lion  of  another  world.  Many  a 
time  in  the  course  of  those  nightly  interviews  which  have 
been  referred  to,  he  roused  himself  from  an  intense  con- 
templation of  his  companion,  disturbed  by  thunder  and  the 
tumult  without.  Then  while  the  wind  blew  unequally, 
roared  through  swaying  branches,  or  mourned  around  the 
walls  that  shut  him  in,  he  quickened  under  the  influence  of 
over-tones  in  nature  which  human  beings  cannot  hear. 
Storm  and  darkness  wrought  upon  him  as  they  will  not 
do  upon  man.  Beyond  what  was  visible  or  audible,  there 
was  something  that  came  from  within  himself  ;  something 
that  wove  "  the  waste  fantasies  "  of  his  dreams  together, 
and  gave  character  and  purpose  to  ideation.  He  showed 
it  in  profoundly  suggestive  pantomime.  But  what  "air- 
drawn  "  shapes  were  followed  with  those  long,  swift,  soft 
yet  heavy  steps,  on  what  his  eyes  were  fixed,  what  feelings 
and  fancies  engrossed  and  transfigured  him,  gave  that 
fierce  energy,  and  led  him  in  their  train,  are  unknowable. 
They  had  no  voice,  but  only  with  mute  motions  pointed 
backward  to  a  past  in  which  humanity  shared  no  part,  and 
which  it  cannot  explore. 

Those  who  have  reared  beasts  of  prey,  must,  it  is  prob- 
able, read  works  that  describe  the  expression  of  their  emo- 
tions with  a  certain  dissatisfaction.  Not  for  the  reason 
that  their  authors  lacked  power,  the  art  of  observation,  or 


The  Puma  291 


scientific  attainments,  but  merely  because  they  themselves 
have  seen  and  felt  the  influence  of  so  much  that  is  too 
evasive  for  definite  detail.  The  grander  passions  may  be 
painted  ;  in  virtue  of  the  unstable  equilibrium  of  nervous 
elements,  and  that  comparatively  imperfect  system  of  con- 
nections existing  between  the  centres,  they  are  always 
explosive.  But  a  world  of  complex,  kaleidoscopic  views 
interpose  between  fury  and  tranquility.  Feeling  cannot 
be  continually  intense,  nor  need  it  necessarily  remain  un- 
expressed because  it  is  not  violent.  Only  those  emotions 
which  are  for  the  time  absorbing  have  an  unmistakable 
physiognomy,  and  these  both  brutes  and  higher  beings  feel 
but  rarely.  In  attempting  anything  more  than  a  sugges- 
tion of  the  impression  produced  by  current  feeling,  the 
observer  is  liable  to  become  constructive  ;  to  picture  him- 
self instead  of  the  model,  or  to  lose  the  subject  in  the  midst 
of  anatomical,  physiological,  and  psychological  details. 

Unprovoked  dislike,  antipathy,  permanent  and  constant 
in  special  directions,  together  with  antithetical  feelings, 
which  are  also  said  to  be  spontaneous,  Gato  possessed  in 
abundance.  He  gave  up  trying  to  kill  the  Apostle  John, 
but  liked  him  no  better  than  did  those  heathens  who  boiled 
the  saint  in  oil.  Whether  on  account  of  an  animosity  he 
had  towards  all  men,  or  because  in  his  own  fashion  he  be- 
came superstitious  about  the  statue,  this  much  is  certain, 
that  if  dragged  up  to  it,  he  took  offence.  On  the  other 
hand,  Gato  made  friends  with  a  horse.  Every  morning 
when  his  groom  let  him  out,  Said  trotted  to  the  rear  of  the 
house,  put  his  head  over  the  half-door  looking  into  the 
court-yard,  and  asked  for  a  little  wine  and  sugar  with  a 


292  Wild  Beasts 


gentle  whinny.  Sometimes  Gato  was  chained  to  one  of 
the  buttresses  of  a  tamarind  and  saw  him.  Often  Said 
walked  in  on  the  stone  floor  and  found  him  loose,  as 
was  customary  while  his  guardian  remained  at  home. 
At  first,  when  actually  confronted,  the  Arab  showed  a  good 
deal  of  uneasiness.  But  the  puma  was  then  only  half- 
grown,  and  upon  being  reassured,  the  horse  concluded  that 
it  was  all  right,  and  paid  no  further  attention  to  him.  So 
this  singular  compact  of  neutrality  was  begun.  On  Said's 
part,  it  never  became  anything  else.  He  suffered  Gato 
when  a  mature  and  very  large  animal  to  walk  around 
him,  without  any  special  recognition  of  his  presence,  and 
that  was  all.  On  the  other  hand,  the  latter  respected,  or 
admired,  or  had  some  kind  of  a  friendly  feeling  towards 
the  horse. 

In  order  that  he  might  not  remain  in  that  benighted  state 
in  which  his  forefathers  lived  among  wretched  Olmecs, 
Chichemecs,  and  Otomies  whom  the  Aztecs  captured  to 
sacrifice  to  their  war  god,  it  was  deemed  proper  to  instruct 
him  in  the  use  and  effects  of  fire-arms.  He  approved  of 
cartridges  as  playthings,  and  watched  them  put  into  the 
cylinder,  but  did  not  think  for  some  time  that  they  were 
the  things  that  went  off  and  made  a  noise  and  flash. 
When  he  saw  a  ball  strike,  he  used  to  leap  at  the  scar  and 
look  for  fragments  scattered  by  the  shot.  Finally,  by  dint  of 
seeing  ammunition  exploded,  and  snuffing  empty  arms,  Gato 
got  some  inkling  that  there  was  a  connection  between  a 
pistol  he  saw  charged,  and  certain  effects.  Still  it  is  very 
doubtful  whether  in  his  opinion  a  loaded  revolver  was 
dangerous,  until  experience  convinced  him  that  it  would 


The  Puma  293 


kill.  In  other  words,  he  was  taught  that  which  unreclaimed 
wild  beasts  find  out  for  themselves  everywhere  on  the  face 
of  the  earth. 

What  finished  his  education  in  this  way,  was  an  incident 
that  very  nearly  proved  disastrous  to  himself.  One 
summer  morning  while  he  was  fastened  in  the  court-yard, 
and  his  guardian  sat  reading  in  his  sala,  a  large  rabid  dog 
dashed  into  the  room  from  the  street,  and  without  notic- 
ing the  motionless  figure  in  a  chair,  rushed  out  by  an 
opposite  door  towards  the  puma,  who  lay  under  a  tree. 
Instant  aid  was  necessary  to  prevent  the  latter  from  being 
bitten ;  for  although  at  that  time  he  would  have  torn  the 
dog  to  pieces,  as  he  had  already  done  in  the  case  of  two  or 
three  others,  this  would  not  have  saved  him.  He  witnessed 
the  whole  affair ;  saw  the  revolver,  the  aim  and  flash, 
heard  the  report,  beheld  the  dog  fall,  struggle  a  moment, 
and  die.  Afterwards  its  body  was  dragged  nearer  to  him, 
so  he  could  feel  assured  that  life  was  gone.  Then  for  the 
first  time  did  a  realizing  sense  of  the  potency  of  this 
instrument  enter  into  his  mind.  Subsequent  to  this 
occurrence,  it  was  for  a  while  only  necessary  to  wear 
a  pistol  to  keep  Gato  at  a  distance.  Once  in  an  unlucky 
hour  his  guardian  told  a  servant  to  aim  one  at  him  by  way 
of  experiment,  and  nothing  but  the  promptest  and  most 
determined  interference  saved  the  man.  Charles  Darwin 
("  Expression  of  the  Emotions,"  etc.)  says  that  the  physi- 
ognomy of  fear  among  cats  is  difficult  to  describe  because 
it  passes  so  quickly  into  that  of  rage.  In  this  case  the 
transition  was  instantaneous,  and  a  fine  fury  it  was. 

The  blare  of  cavalry  trumpets,  the  roll  of  drums,  and 


294  Wild  Beasts 


clang  of  bells,  attracted  Gate's  attention  and  made  him 
restless,  but  he  was  not  "moved  by  concourse  of  sweet 
sounds."  They  possessed  no  meaning,  and  did  not  cause 
him  to  think  or  feel.  To  sing  to  him  was  a  waste  of 
time,  and  he  looked  upon  a  guitar  as  something  that  made 
an  insignificant  noise.  If  the  strings  were  roughly  and 
unexpectedly  vibrated,  the  effect  resembled  any  other 
sudden  interruption  of  meditation  or  slumber.  He  was 
startled,  and  apprehension  instantly  took  the  form  of 
anger,  and  then  passed  quickly  when  he  saw  what  had 
disturbed  his  repose.  All  physiologists  will  agree  with 
Spencer  that  /'the  existing  quantity  of  nerve  force  liber- 
ated at  any  moment  which  produces  in  some  inscrutible 
way  the  state  we  call  feeling,  must  expend  itself  in  some 
direction,  must  generate  an  equivalent  manifestation  of 
force  somewhere."  The  feeling  excited,  whatever  it  may 
be,  will  flow  in  accustomed  channels,  and  manifest  it- 
self in  what  Darwin  describes  as  "habitually  associated 
movements."  This  law,  and  that  governing  antithetical 
manifestations,  is  founded  in  the  physical  and  mental 
organization  of  all  creatures,  and  its  expressions  vary  with 
the  differences  obtaining  among  those  of  different  kinds. 
Gato  and  the  members  of  every  species  belonging  to  his 
family  are  primarily  avatars  of  force.  They  inherit  as 
predominant  traits  those  feelings  and  faculties,  those 
physical  specializations  and  particular  aptitudes,  which 
tend  to  make  violence  successful.  When  any  nervous 
shock  let  loose  his  energy,  it  flowed  from  the  centres  where 
it  was  stored  through  the  most  permeable  tracts  ;  those 
which  had  been  most  frequently  traversed  in  the  history 


The  Puma  295 


of  the  individual  and  his  race ;  and  as  this  process  was 
necessarily  accompanied  by  corresponding  movements, 
when  the  strings  of  a  guitar  aroused  him  suddenly,  Gato 
involuntarily  assumed  the  attitudes  and  exhibited  the 
temper  of  an  excited  beast  of  prey.  If  startled,  teased, 
or  menaced,  if  impatient,  angry,  or  even  pleased,  however 
different  may  have  been  the  passing  feeling,  however 
variously  it  was  expressed,  his  character  always  over- 
shadowed him,  and  gave  an  air  to  every  outward  act ; 
not  always  in  those  set  forms  which  Camper,  Le  Brun, 
Bell,  and  Darwin  set  forth,  but  unmistakably,  and,  of 
course,  by  the  same  means  through  which  the  typical 
representations  of  passion  take  place. 

That  sedateness  and  inertia  which,  in  Felida  especially, 
soon  supervene  upon  the  restlessness  of  kittenhood, 
showed  themselves  in  Gato  at  an  earlier  period  than 
usual.  This  was  in  a  great  degree  attributable  to  his 
rapid  and  enormous  growth.  The  energy  which  under 
ordinary  physiological  conditions  would  have  remained 
free  to  manifest  itself  in  movement,  was  expended  in 
building  his  frame. 

Many  times  on  looking  up  and  meeting  Gato's  gaze  as 
he  lay  upon  a  rug  contemplating  his  friend,  the  expression 
of  those  fiery  eyes  suggested  stories  of  fascination  —  Arab 
legends,  African  and  Hindu  superstitions  about  the  mes- 
meric power  possessed  by  tigers  and  lions.  A  good  deal 
has  been  written  on  this  subject  which  is  not  much  to  the 
purpose.  But  no  one  has  shown,  or  can  show,  that  this 
influence  is  impossible,  or,  as  it  suggested  itself  to  the 
author  in  the  course  of  some  experiments  upon  his  puma, 


296  Wild  Beasts 


that  susceptible  subjects  might  not,  as  in  cases  reported 
by  Charcot  and  others,  hypnotize  themselves.  Having  no 
way  of  getting  at  the  relations  subsisting  between  the 
centres  of  his  brain  with  any  certainty,  it  occurred  to  his 
guardian  that  a  physiological  approximation  to  their  state 
might  be  made  by  means  of  this  kind  of  an  impression,  and 
that  it  would  reveal,  to  a  certain  extent  at  least,  what  is 
called  by  French  writers  the  ''solidarity"  of  that  organ. 
The  difficulty  lay  in  the  first  necessary  step,  according  to 
Heidenhain  ;  namely,  in  arresting  attention.  Czermak's 
experiments  at  Leipzig  were  made  upon  creatures  of  a  very 
different  character  from  Gato.  By  all  accounts,  hypnotism 
is  impossible  except  when  attentiveness  approaches  to  a 
wrapped  degree  of  fixedness.  The  author  tried  to  act 
upon  his  puma,  but  in  vain.  A  bright  object  placed  above 
him  in  front  might  or  might  not  excite  special  curiosity. 
If  his  keeper  held  it,  he  looked  at  him,  and  probably 
wondered  what  new  deviltry  he  was  after  then. 

Often  he  grew  uneasy,  or  disgusted  perhaps,  got  up,  and 
lay  down  with  his  head  averted,  or  closed  his  lids.  Some- 
times he  walked  away,  pretending  not  to  notice  his  com- 
panion, though  keenly  observant  of  what  he  was  doing  all 
the  while.  But  this  eye-to-eye  interview  was  quite  as  likely 
to  bring  the  animal  close,  make  him  rub  against  his  com- 
rade, or  present  his  head  to  be  stroked.  Whatever  he  did, 
however,  was  done  of  his  own  accord,  and  had  no  refer- 
ence to  the  performances  of  his  associate,  or  to  the  will- 
power exerted  and  wasted  on  such  occasions. 

It  was  easy  to  see  when  Gato  was  apathetic,  and  plain 
enough  when  he  was  intoxicated  with  what  Willis  and  the 


The  Puma  297 


old  anatomists  called  "animal  spirits."  In  the  mean 
between  these  extremes  lay  the  mystery.  Who  was  to 
decide  when  the  panther  patted  you  gently  with  his 
sheathed  paw,  or  put  his  head  before  the  book,  whether 
these  solicitations  to  take  notice  of  him  had  their  root  in  a 
need  for  sympathy,  or  were  signs  of  a  desire  to  enjoy  some 
pleasant  sensation,  such  as  being  scratched  or  played  with  ? 
One  could  only  guess  at  this  from  the  clue  given  by  a 
knowledge  of  his  character. 

Much  uncertainty  exists  with  regard  to  the  degree  in 
which  his  aesthetic  sense  was  developed.  Whoever  has 
shown  pictures  to  children  and  savages,  knows  the  great 
uncertainty  attending  their  recognition  of  things  which 
are  familiar  to  them.  The  puma  liked  glaring  colors  and 
bright  objects,  yet  while  capable  of  identifying  a  large 
statue,  the  preference  he  exhibited  for  certain  paintings 
depended  most  probably  on  their  florid  style.  If  his 
guardian  read  a  work  illustrated  with  engravings  while  he 
looked  over  his  shoulder,  they  made  no  perceptible  im- 
pression upon  him.  He  admired  gorgeous  parrots  that 
cursed  him,  and  for  a  long  time  made  hostile  demonstra- 
tions towards  a  raven  who  was  too  wise  not  to  let  him 
alone.  Some  of  the  great  hunters  have  thought  that  those 
strong  predilections  exhibited  by  tigers  for  certain  beauti- 
ful localities  which  otherwise  had  nothing  to  recommend 
them  to  the  choice  of  such  inmates,  were  evidence  of 
appreciation  upon  their  part  of  this  advantage. 

That  conclusion  is,  however,  a  very  uncertain  one,  and 
most  likely  comes  under  the  head  of  those  observations 
that  Czermak  designates  as  "  events  viewed  unequally  "  ; 


298  Wild  Beasts 


that  is  to  say,  the  facts  are  true,  but  the  inference  unwar- 
ranted. Gato  had  not  much  opportunity  of  studying 
natare.  When,  as  happened  several  times  during  early 
life,  he  was  taken  into  wild  and  solitary  places,  his  at- 
tention concentrated  itself  upon  living  things.  Beside 
those  he  seemed  to  care  for  nothing,  except,  perhaps,  to 
be  perverse.  He  climbed  trees  and  would  not  come 
down,  hid,  and  pretended  not  to  hear  when  he  was  called. 
Once,  improbable  as  it  seems,  he  lost  himself,  and  when  all 
hope  of  recovering  him  appeared  to  be  gone,  here  came 
the  little  wretch,  in  a  very  bad  temper,  nosing  out  his 
friend's  trail,  and  convinced  that  he  had  been  torment- 
ing him,  and  done  the  whole  thing  on  purpose. 

It  is  time  to  close  these  memorabilia.  Such  facts  as 
the  records  of  his  life  contribute  towards  the  ways  of  wild 
beasts,  and  illustrating  their  habits  and  character,  have 
been  now  brought  forward.  A  book  might  be  written 
about  his  adventures  and  the  traits  he  displayed,  yet  most 
of  what  was  most  interesting  in  his  character  lies  on  the 
border  land  of  actual  observation,  and  cannot  be  dis- 
tinctly stated. 

The  manner  in  which  Gato  departed  this  life  was  worthy 
of  himself,  and  may  be  taken  as  the  last  proof  of  his  un- 
changed savagery  of  spirit.  He  had  never  come  into 
actual  conflict  with  a  man,  not  because  of  unwillingness, 
but  in  consequence  of  the  restraint  imposed  by  confine- 
ment, bonds,  or  his  guardian's  presence.  On  the  evening 
of  his  death  he  was  fastened  by  the  fountain ;  when,  as  it 
is  said,  for  unhappily  the  writer  was  absent,  a  strange  dog 
appeared,  whom  he  sprang  at,  breaking  his  chain  close  to 


The  Puma  299 


the  collar,  and  killed.  Afterwards  he  climbed  a  tree,  and 
while  the  servants  shut  themselves  up  in  their  apartments, 
stretched  himself  out  on  a  limb,  and  looked  down  upon  the 
mangled  remains  of  his  victim.  No  doubt  the  ferocious 
feelings  of  his  nature  were  all  aroused,  and  unfortunately 
just  at  that  time  a  man  rode  through  the  stone  passage 
that  in  this  country  serves  as  a  front  door.  Then  the 
puma  came  down  and  flew  at  him,  springing  on  to  the 
croup  of  his  horse,  and  wounding,  though  slightly,  both  it 
and  its  rider.  The  man  being  a  nervous  person,  lost  his 
head  entirely,  and  not  satisfied  with  making  himself  safe 
in  a  room  whose  door  was  opened  to  him,  must  needs  fire 
out  of  the  window  with  a  carbine  he  found  in  the  apart- 
ment. Some  people  become  demented  at  the  sight  of 
their  own  blood,  and  this  was  one  of  them.  He  held 
straight,  however,  and  the  ball  shattered  the  animal's 
right  shoulder  and  passed  backwards  into  his  body.  Gato 
had  got  between  two  great  roots  of  the  tree  when  his 
friend  arrived,  and  that  saved  him  from  another  shot. 
The  creature  was  desperate,  but  too  intelligent  not  to 
know  that  he  who  approached  had  no  part  in  what  he 
suffered.  It  was  a  mortal  wound,  but  death  promised  to 
be  delayed  till  that  splendid  frame  was  wasted  by  morbid 
processes  and  his  life  was  gasped  out  in  agony.  This 
was  not  to  be  endured.  The  hand  of  affection  did  him 
the  last  good  office,  and  he  died  instantly. 

Pumas  do  not  charge  men  in  masses.  Their  victims  are 
chosen  among  those  creatures  they  find  alone.  Individ- 
uals have  sometimes  been  assailed  by  more  than  one.  Im 
Thurn  asserts  that  the  "Warracaba  tigers"  of  Guiana, 


300  Wild  Beasts 


who  hunt  in  families,  are  pumas.  Two  persons  occasion- 
ally appear  in  authentic  records  as  having  been  assaulted. 
Mostly,  however,  the  incidents  of  any  serious  adventure 
of  this  kind  are  only  known  to  a  single  individual,  and 
whether  they  are  ever  recounted  depends  almost  entirely 
upon  the  way  in  which  the  attack  is  made.  A  hunter 
taken  by  surprise  would  generally  lose  his  life.  This  ani- 
mal is  not  difficult  to  kill,  and  the  facility  with  which  it 
may  be  disposed  of  is  another  reason  for  disparaging  its 
prowess  among  the  class  who  most  commonly  encounter  it. 

A  source  of  misunderstanding  is  also  found  in  the  special 
habits  of  this  animal.  Those  of  the  Felidce  about  which 
some  more  or  less  vague  information  is  most  generally 
diffused,  do  not  climb.  The  puma  is  particularly  given  to 
doing  so  wherever  forest  lands  are  found  within  the  range 
of  its  distribution.  Quite  as  frequently  as  the  Asiatic  and 
African  leopard,  and  more  commonly  than  a  jaguar,  this 
beast  resorts  to  trees  when  pursued.  Its  reasons  for 
doing  so  cannot  be  doubted :  it  feels  at  home  among  the 
boughs  ;  observation  has  taught  the  animal  that  none  of 
those  natural  enemies  it  need  avoid  can  follow.  If  dogs 
are  on  its  track,  it  is  well  aware  that,  owing  to  their  supe- 
rior speed,  they  are  certain  to  come  up  with  it,  and  that 
in  taking  to  the  limbs  above,  its  scent  will  be  lost.  For 
this  habit  but  one  reason  has  been  commonly  assigned  ; 
namely,  that  the  puma  is  a  poltroon. 

In  G.  O.  Shields'  compilation  of  monographs  upon  "  The 
Large  Game  of  North  America,"  he  publishes  some  nar- 
ratives that  throw  light  upon  the  cougar's  character.  Re- 
venge is  not  a  very  powerful  or  persistent  passion  in  the 


The  Puma  301 


Felidce,  but  cruelty  is.  Injuries  are  soon  forgotten,  and 
nobody  ever  knew  a  lion  or  tiger  to  act  in  this  regard 
like  an  elephant.  The  feline  beast  never  forgets,  how- 
ever, or  becomes  indifferent  to  the  joy  of  torture.  That 
is  why  it  is  fatal  to  fear  it.  The  sight  of  this  kind  of 
suffering  excites  all  their  fell  tendencies.  Accidents  with 
these  animals  are  not  results  of  abiding  hate  and  premedi- 
tated vengeance,  but  very  often  of  sudden  impulse  excited 
by  the  sight  of  apprehension.  Deep,  concentrated,  persist- 
ent feeling  is  beyond  the  Felida.  This  is  why  Dio  Cassius' 
story  of  Androcles  and  his  lion  is  untrue ;  quite  as  much 
a  romance  of  the  affections  as  Balzac's  "  Passion  du 
Desert."  Gerard's  touching  account  of  his  reunion  with 
Hubert  at  the  Jardin  des  Plantes  fails,  in  his  version  of 
the  animal's  feelings,  for  the  same  reason  —  because  it  is 
impossible.  No  doubt  the  lion  he  had  reared  was  glad  to 
see  him,  but  that  is  not  what  is  conveyed.  The  picture 
presented  is  too  like  that  drawn  by  Homer  of  the  behavior 
of  Ulysses'  dog,  when  his  "far-travelled"  master  came 
back,  an  unrecognized  stranger,  to  Ithaca.  No  wild  beast 
of  the  cat  kind  ever  sat  for  that  portrait. 

Shields  and  others  inform  us  that  on  several  occasions 
"panthers"  have  been  known  to  accompany  women  and 
children  for  some  distance,  and  play  with  them,  caper 
about  their  paths,  and  pull  at  their  clothes,  without  doing 
further  harm  than  was  produced  by  fright.  That  these 
creatures  act  under  the  influence  of  playful  moods  is  cer- 
tain, but  that  a  wild  beast  should  come  out  of  the  woods 
and  in  pure  lightness  of  heart  invite  a  perfect  stranger  to 
romp,  appears  to  be  improbable. 


302  Wild  Beasts 


Without  pretending  to  decide  upon  what  the  mental  or 
emotional  state  under  such  circumstances  really  was,  both 
the  natural  character  of  these  beasts,  and  certain  well- 
known  devices,  not  only  of  theirs,  but  of  allied  species, 
suggest  another  explanation.  One  of  the  most  common 
means  for  defence  resorted  to  by  this  family  at  large,  is  an 
assumption  of  anger,  and  the  pretence  of  attack  —  they  try 
to  frighten  intruders  whom  they  suspect  of  an  intention  to 
do  them  harm.  When  a  puma  crouches  and  bares  its  teeth 
it  is  not  always  enraged,  but  very  frequently  does  this  for 
the  reason  that  it  is  uneasy,  or  dislikes  what  you  are  doing 
and  wishes  to  put  an  end  to  something  disagreeable  by  ter- 
rifying the  objectionable  person.  It  might  then  happen 
that  a  cougar  would,  when  startled  by  an  accidental  meet- 
ing of  this  kind,  assume  an  offensive  attitude  with  the 
intention  of  intimidating  the  person  met.  If  it  suc- 
ceeded, apprehension  might  easily  give  place  for  a  time  to 
its  propensity  towards  torture,  and  the  beast  would  then 
behave  much  in  the  same  manner,  apart  from  actual 
violence,  as  if  in  the  course  of  its  pursuit  of  prey  this 
had  been  overtaken.  Such  situations,  however,  present 
none  of  the  conditions  that  tend  towards  -permanence. 
In  default  of  speedy  rescue,  the  partially  aroused  tenden- 
cies of  the  puma  would  soon  become  fully  awakened,  and 
its  impulses  break  out  in  acts  of  bloodshed. 

Various  references  have  been  made  to  that  part  of  the 
education  of  feline  beasts  by  which  they  are  taught  not  to 
kill  their  human  associates.  One  may  read  a  great  deal 
without  finding  much  information  on  this  subject.  Most 
all  of  the  professional  trainers  whom  the  writer  has  ex- 


The  Puma  303 


changed  ideas  with  on  this  point  were  of  opinion  that  fear 
alone  would  prevent  these  creatures  from  becoming  dan- 
gerous ;  and  it  is  customary  to  proceed  upon  this  principle. 
As  soon,  however,  as  any  single  rule  is  attempted  to  be 
fitted  to  all  cases,  it  becomes  plain  that  it  will  not  apply. 
The  personality  of  a  cat  is  not  to  be  compared  with  that  of 
a  man ;  nevertheless,  if  one  is  reared  without  taking  this 
into  account,  it  will  be  ruined.  Such  beings  differ  so 
greatly  in  disposition  and  temper,  in  capacity,  and  the 
power  and  willingness  to  learn,  that  to  force  them  all  alike 
into  a  mould,  causes  mental  and  moral  deformity  with  the 
same  certainty  that  a  similar  proceeding  would  cause  dis- 
tortion of  their  bodies  if  the  means  used  were  material 
restraints  to  physical  development.  The  system  of  ter- 
rorism is  based  upon  the  false  assumption  that  fear  is  the 
only  feeling  which  will  affect  the  Felidce  deeply  and  per- 
manently, and  that  this  can  only  be  excited  in  one  way ; 
namely,  by  severity. 

The  intercourse  of  an  average  keeper  with  the  animals 
he  has  in  charge  is  in  most  instances  of  the  most  limited 
description.  His  observations,  if  he  makes  any,  are  more 
likely  to  relate  to  their  behavior  as  either  submission  or 
otherwise,  than  to  their  general  conduct  towards  himself, 
and  usually,  all  he  has  to  communicate  possesses  little 
interest  except  to  the  visiting  public,  who  are  easily  satis- 
fied, and  ready  to  believe  anything.  A  trainer  or  tamer, 
although  often  an  interesting  person  in  virtue  of  his  expe- 
riences, is  not  always  an  instructive  one.  As  a  rule,  all 
that  he  knows  is  confined  to  what  has  presented  itself  in 
the  course  of  a  few  simple  instructions.  Experiments 


304 


Wild  Beasts 


are  rarely  resorted  to,  both  the  knowledge  of  how  to 
conduct  them,  and  the  attainments  by  which  their  results 
could  be  properly  interpreted,  being  from  the  nature  of 
the  case  most  generally  wanting. 

A  young  savage  of  the  cat  kind  will  naturally  bite  and 
scratch  when  enraged,  and  the  only  means  of  discouraging 
such  practices  are  those  of  punishment,  and  a  clear  demon- 
stration that  its  hostile  attempts  are  unavailing.  No  creat- 
ure belonging  to  this  class  could  comprehend  the  difference 
between  right  and  wrong  in  an  abstract  form.  But  not- 
withstanding that  what  is  bad  in  itself  is  hidden  from 
them,  things  forbidden  come  to  be  quickly  learned,  and 
this  malum  prohibitum  no  doubt  influences  their  minds  in 
much  the  same  way  that,  allowing  for  the  inequalities, 
ceremonial  observances  and  rites  affect  those  of  savages. 
The  latter  are  largely  occupied  in  performing  and  avoiding 
a  number  of  actions  because  they  expect  personal  advan- 
tages to  accrue  in  one  case,  and  condign  vengeance  to  be 
visited  upon  malpractice  in  the  other.  They  are  super- 
stitious, and  so  is  the  brute.  Over  and  above  the  benefits 
or  penalties  these  know  of,  there  are  others  which  they 
imagine  but  do  not  know. 

To  become  even  in  a  measure  acquainted  with  pumas, 
one  must  take  a  reasonably  good-natured  and  intelligent 
specimen  in  its  infancy,  and  train  it  as  consistently  as  if  it 
were  a  child ;  make  it  feel  the  folly  and  futility  of  violence 
towards  its  tutor,  impress  it  with  the  constant  experience 
that  its  tricks  and  stratagems  always  fail  before  that  friendly 
but  invincible  being  who  watches  over  its  life  and  sees 
everything.  Excite  the  animal's  curiosity  and  wonder,  show 


The  Puma  305 


it  the  difference  between  yourself  and  others,  be  just  and 
firm  and  calm.  It  will  never  be  anything  but  a  wild  beast ; 
but  if  this  is  done,  it  will  be  such  an  one  as  cannot  other- 
wise be  met  with.  Above  all,  if  the  interest  of  this  occu- 
pation is  not  enough  to  affect  the  risk  necessarily  incurred, 
if  such  a  pursuit  cannot  be  followed  without  apprehension, 
give  it  up  at  once.  A  loose  beast  of  prey  is  not  a  fit  asso- 
ciate for  a  nervous  man. 


THE   WOLF 

THE  wolf  represents  the  typical  form  among  Canidce, 
and  it  possesses  all  the  ordinary  characters  belonging 
to  this  group  in  their  highest  degree  of  development. 
There  is  but  one  family  in  the  Cynoidea,  that  of  the  dogs, 
and  all  species  of  his  group  fall  within  the  limits  of  a  single 
genus.  "  Canidce  display  likenesses  in  structure  nearly  as 
great  as  those  which  the  cats  exhibit,"  remarks  W.  N. 
Lockington  (" Riverside  Natural  History").  Professor 
Huxley  has  broken  up  the  aggregate  into  two  groups,  dog- 
like  or  Thooid  animals,  and  the  Alopecoids  —  those  which 
most  resemble  wolves.  These  are  marked  off  from  each 
other  by  peculiarities  of  the  base  of  the  skull  and  those 
parts  developed  around  it.  Canis,  moreover,  is  a  genus 
which,  while  it  varies  very  greatly  among  its  included  forms, 
is  physiologically  so  nearly  identical  that,  as  Lockington 
observes,  "  there  is  no  proof  that  any  species  of  this  family 
is  infertile  with  any  other." 

Wolves  are  among  the  wildest,  wariest,  and  most  widely 
removed  from  human  association  of  all  animals.  The 
question  whether  all  kinds  —  red,  black,  white,  and  gray 
—  are  of  one  species  or  many,  may  be  dismissed  at  once. 
Nobody  is  able  to  say  what  specific  characteristics  really 
are.  Canis  lupus  is  one  of  the  most  widely  distributed  of 

306 


The  Wolf  307 


living  forms.  His  range  encircles  the  world  within  the 
arctic  zone,  and  it  extends  southward  into  the  tropics  in 
America ;  wolves  roam  over  nearly  all  Asia,  and  at  one 
time  they  were  found  throughout  Europe. 

"The  common  wolf,"  says  Lockington,  "is  the  largest 
and  fiercest  animal  of  the  group,  and  the  only  one  that 
is  dangerous  to  man."  Its  average  length  is  about  four 
feet  six  inches,  it  stands  rather  more  than  two  feet  high 
at  the  shoulder,  and  it  is  a  little  higher  behind  than 
before.  These  dimensions  vary  in  geographical  varieties  ; 
the  French  wolf  being  smaller  than  the  German,  the 
Scandinavian  larger,  heavier,  and  deeper  in  the  shoulder 
than  the  Russian ;  while  wolves  on  this  continent  are  not 
so  large  as  those  of  the  Old  World.  All  Asiatic  forms 
north  of  the  Altai  Mountains  are  modifications  of  the 
common  wolf  of  Europe,  and  the  same  is  true  of  black 
wolves  in  the  Pyrenees  and  highlands  of  France,  Spain, 
Italy,  and  Russia,  as  well  as  of  the  white,  lead-color, 
black,  and  dull-red  varieties  of  America.  As  a  rule,  the 
wolf  dwindles  and  degenerates  within  the  tropics.  Cants 
pallipes,  the  Indian  form,  approaches  the  jackal,  according 
to  Huxley,  more  closely  than  the  members  of  any  other  cli- 
matic group,  and  as  Professor  Baird  remarks,  the  coyote 
—  Cams  latrans,  replaces  the  jackal  in  the  New  World. 

Finally,  the  wolf,  though  a  flesh-eater  and  beast  of  prey, 
possesses  traits  of  structure  which  distinguish  carnivora 
less  highly  specialized  than  Felidce.  Unlike  the  cats,  its 
limbs  are  long  and  less  united  with  the  body;  freer  in 
their  movements,  and  adapted  to  running  rather  than 
to  the  short,  bounding  rush  and  spring  of  the  latter. 


308  Wild  Beasts 


Wolves  are  very  powerful  animals  in  proportion  to  their 
size ;  active,  hardy,  with  strong  and  formidably  armed 
jaws.  Their  senses  are  all  extremely  well  developed, 
their  speed  is  great,  and  the  tireless  gallop  of  the  wolf 
has  given  rise  to  stereotyped  phrases  and  comparisons 
in  many  languages. 

Leaving  now  the  zoological  relations  of  wolves,  their 
habits,  character,  and  capacity  present  themselves  for 
consideration.  At  the  commencement  of  such  an  inquiry 
we  find  sources  of  information  upon  some  of  these  points 
which  are  valuable  in  themselves,  and  in  their  general 
tenor  conclusive. 

Cuvier  ("Regne  Animal")  asserts  that  the  wolf  is  "the 
most  mischievous  of  all  the  carnivora  of  Europe,"  and  it 
would  have  been  possible  to  know  this  from  the  folk-lore 
of  those  countries  alone.  In  mythology  and  minstrelsy, 
in  fireside  story  and  local  legend,  wolves  stand  foremost 
among  wild  beasts  in  nations  of  the  Celtic  and  Teutonic 
stocks.  Their  fierce  visages  look  out  from  all  the  darker 
superstitions  of  the  Old  World,  and  echoes  of  their 
unearthy  cry  linger  in  the  saddest  of  its  surviving  ex- 
pressions of  dread,  foreboding,  and  despair.  Hans  Sachs 
called  them  "the  hunting  dogs  of  the  Lord";  but  this 
is  a  conception  restricted  to  a  single  religion,  and  nearly 
everywhere  from  Greece  to  Norway,  the  wolf  has  been 
an  object  of  horror  and  hate,  an  incarnation  of  evil,  the 
emblem,  agent,  or  associate  of  those  unseen  beings  under 
whose  forms  terror  personified  unknown  and  destructive 
forces. 

All  this  is  not  meaningless ;   great  masses  of  men  do 


The   Wolf  309 


not  combine  to  give  a  "bad  eminence"  to  anything  that 
is  insignificant.  They  do  not  often  fear  harmless  objects, 
and  they  never  do  so  when  these  are  familiar.  Cuvier 
says  in  his  description  of  the  wolf,  that  "its  courage  is 
not  in  proportion  to  its  strength."  But  it  is  certain  that 
packs  once  howled  at  night  around  Paris,  and  tore  people 
to  pieces  in  her  streets ;  that  they  ravaged,  and  killed  man 
and  beast,  in  every  part  of  Western  Europe,  made  public 
highways  unsafe,  and  put  travellers  by  forest  roads  in 
constant  peril  of  their  lives.  When  the  traditions  and 
myths  referred  to  were  formed,  things  were  much  worse 
in  this  respect  than  in  Cuvier's  time,  and  we  may  be 
absolutely  sure  that  these  animals'  reputation  rests  on  a 
strong  foundation  of  fact.  It  was  not  the  accident  of  an 
idle  fancy  that  pictured  gaunt  gray  wolves,  dripping  with 
blood,  that  bore  the  spirits  of  death  upon  northern  battle- 
fields. Geri  and  Freki,  the  wolves  of  Woden,  battened 
on  the  fallen  in  Valhalla.  On  earth  and  on  high,  fan- 
tasy grouped  its  most  tragic  conceptions  around  "the 
dark  gray  beast "  of  early  Sagas  ;  and  it  was  believed  that 
chained  in  hell,  the  Fenris  wolf  awaited  that  day  when  the 
demons  of  the  underworld  should  be  loosed,  and  with  the 
bursting  of  the  vault  of  heaven,  "  the  twilight  of  the  gods  " 
would  come. 

Very  little  good  has  ever  been  said  about  a  wolf.  But 
on  the  Western  Continent  there  is  an  almost  complete 
absence  of  evidence  to  show  that  imagination  was  affected 
by  this  creature  in  the  same  manner  as  was  common 
among  European  nations. 

Henry    R.     Schoolcraft     ("Indian    Tribes    of    North 


310  Wild  Beasts 


America")  remarks  that  "the  turtle,  the  bear,  and  the 
wolf  appear  to  have  been  primary  and  honored  totems 
in  most  tribes.  .  .  .  They  are  believed  to  have  more  or 
less  prominence  in  the  genealogies  of  all  who  are  organ- 
ized upon  the  totemic  principle."  None  knew  wolves 
better  than  the  aborigines  of  this  country,  and  it  is  most 
improbable  that  beasts  which  so  powerfully  affected  the 
thoughts  and  feelings  of  men  in  a  similar  social  phase 
elsewhere,  failed  to  conduct  themselves  similarly  here. 
The  cause  for  this  striking  difference  is  probably  to  be 
found  in  the  peoples  and  not  in  the  animals ;  more 
especially  as  every  element  was  present  in  the  situation 
where  the  former  were  placed,  that  would  have  fostered 
the  growth  of  superstition.  "The  Indian  dwelling  or 
wigwam,"  says  Schoolcraft,  "is  constantly  among  wild 
animals,  .  .  .  whether  enchanted  or  unenchanted,  spirits 
or  real  beings,  he  knows  not.  He  chases  them  by  day, 
and  dreams  of  them  by  night.  ...  A  dream  or  a  fact 
is  equally  potent  in  the  Indian  mind.  He  is  intimate 
with  the  habits,  motions,  and  characters  of  all  animals, 
and  feels  himself  peculiarly  connected  at  all  times  with 
the  animal  creation.  By  the  totemic  system,  he  identifies 
his  personal  and  tribal  history  and  existence  with  theirs ; 
he  thinks  himself  the  peculiar  favorite  of  the  Great  Spirit, 
whenever  they  exist  abundantly  in  his  hunting-grounds, 
and  when  he  dies,  the  figure  of  the  quadruped,  bird,  or 
reptile  which  has  guarded  him  through  life,  is  put  in 
hieroglyphics  on  his  grave  post." 

This  is  not  an  exaggerated  statement,  and  the  fact  is 
that  the  wolf  was  not  only  a  tutelar  of  gentes  and  emblem 


The  Wolf  311 


of  their  confraternity,  but  also,  as  in  case  of  the  fabled 
founders  of  Rome,  a  protector  of  helpless  innocence.  In 
the  cycle  of  legends  and  myths  that  gather  around  the 
culture-hero  Hiawatha,  we  find  the  pretty  tale  of  the 
"Wolf-brother."  When  the  orphan  child  had  been  for- 
saken by  all  who  were  bound  through  natural  affection  to 
cherish  it,  wolves  admitted  the  deserted  little  creature  to 
their  company,  and  gave  the  food  that  supported  its  life. 

With  southern  tribes  the  coyote  takes  the  place  of  the 
northern  wolf ;  and  how  it  happened  that  this  "  miserable 
little  cur  of  an  animal,"  as  Colonel  Dodge  calls  it  ("  Plains 
of  the  Great  West "),  became  the  guardian  of  anybody  or 
anything,  passes  understanding,  unless  it  be  due  to  the 
fact  that  there  is  more  cunning  and  rascality  wrapped  up 
in  its  skin  than  exists  in  that  of  any  other  creature  what- 
ever. Nevertheless,  it  is  true  that  this  jackal  of  the  West 
undoubtedly  occupies  the  position  spoken  of.  Dr.  Wash- 
ington Mathews  ("  Gentile  System  of  the  Navajo Indians") 
has  shown  that  a  coyote  is  the  tutelar  of  at  least  three 
gentes  in  this  great  tribe,  and  Captain  John  G.  Bourke 
("  Gentile  Organization  of  the  Apaches  of  Arizona  ")  traced 
this  animal  in  the  same  capacity  through  several  branches 
of  the  Tinneh  family.  He  found  coyote  gentes  in  the 
Apache,  Apache-Mojave,  Maricopa  tribes,  and  among  the 
Pueblo  Indians  as  well  ;  at  Zuni,  San  Filipe,  Santana,  Zia, 
and  other  places.  In  his  "  Notes  on  the  Apache  Mythol- 
ogy," Captain  Bourke  gives  a  clue  to  the  undeserved  hon- 
ors which  this  beast  has  received.  His  researches  make 
it  plain  that  these  natives  fully  appreciated  its  astuteness. 
The  coyote  made  a  bet  with  the  bear  and  won  it ;  and  by 


312  Wild  Beasts 


its  means,  also,  men  were  provided  with  fire.  There  was 
nothing  Prometheus-like  in  his  conduct  on  this  occasion ; 
not  a  trace  of  the  spirit  which  prompted  the  Titan.  Far 
from  it ;  he  stole  a  brand  the  celestial  squirrel  dropped, 
and  set  fire  to  the  world. 

Like  other  wild  beasts,  the  wolf  has  suffered  at  the 
hands  of  those  who  have  described  him.  Men  who,  accord- 
ing to  their  own  showing,  had  the  most  limited  oppor- 
tunities for  learning  anything  about  them  have  so  often 
pronounced  authoritatively  upon  the  character  of  this 
race,  and  have  so  constantly  confounded  observation  with 
inference,  that  closet  zoologists  are  now  provided  with  a 
body  of  extemporaneous  natural  history  in  which  the  real 
animal  has  become  as  purely  conventional  as  an  Assyrian 
carving. 

Perhaps  the  only  accusation  which  has  not  been  made 
against  this  much  abused  creature  is  that  of  stupidity. 
Nobody  ever  suspected  a  wolf  of  want  of  sense  ;  although 
Buffon  ("  Histoire  Naturelle  ")  says,  "  il  devient  ingtnieux 
par  besoin"  as  if  he  knew  of  other  and  more  gifted  ani- 
mals who  exerted  their  minds  without  any  need  for 
doing  so. 

The  common  representation  which  people  make  to  them- 
selves of  wolves,  and  which  they  are  most  apt  to  see  in 
pictures,  is  that  of  a  pack.  There  is  little  doubt,  however, 
that  packs  are  accidental  and  temporary  aggregates.  They 
are  not  composed  of  family  groups.  Their  members  merely 
unite  for  an  especial  purpose,  and  disperse  when  this  is  at 
an  end.  Moreover,  it  is  exceptional  to  find  large  numbers 
together  in  America  under  any  circumstances.  Wolves 


The   Wolf  313 


consort  in  pairs  or  small  detached  bands,  and  pack  tempo- 
rarily and  rarely. 

Captain  James  Forsyth  ("Highlands  of  Central  India"), 
speaking  of  Cants  pallipes,  an  animal  whose  specific  iden- 
tity with  the  common  form  Sir  Walter  Elliot  and  Horsfield 
deny,  while  Blyth  and  Jerdon  very  properly  insist  upon  it, 
remarks  that  it  is  a  relatively  small  and  slender  beast  with 
comparatively  delicate  teeth.  He  gives  a  narrative  of  his 
personal  experience  which  is  utterly  subversive  of  many 
sweeping  assertions  which  have  been  made  upon  the  sub- 
ject of  their  habits  and  temper. 

In  the  provinces  referred  to,  wolves  are  very  numerous, 
and  are  "  a  plain-loving  species."  They  "  unite  in  parties 
of  five  or  six  to  hunt,"  and  so  far  as  his  observations  go, 
more  than  these  have  not  been  seen  together.  "  Most 
generally  they  are  found  singly  or  in  couples."  The 
domestic  animals  upon  which  these  chiefly  prey  are  dogs 
and  goats.  "  They  are  the  deadly  foes  of  the  former,  and 
will  stand  outside  of  a  village  or  travellers'  camp,  and 
howl  until  some  inexperienced  cur  sallies  forth  to  reply, 
when  the  lot  of  that  cur  will  probably  be  to  return  no 
more.  .  .  . 

"  The  loss  of  human  life  from  these  hideous  brutes  has 
recently  been  ascertained  to  be  so  great,  that  a  heavy 
reward  is  now  offered  for  their  destruction.  Though  not 
generally  venturing  beyond  children  ...  yet  when  con- 
firmed in  the  habit  of  man-eating,  they  do  not  hesitate  to 
attack,  at  an  advantage,  full-grown  women,  and  even  adult 
men.  A  good  many  instances  occurred  during  the  con- 
struction of  the  railway  through  the  low  jungles  of  Jiib- 


Wild  Beasts 


bulpur,  of  laborers  on  the  works  being  so  attacked,  and 
sometimes  killed  and  eaten.  The  assault  was  commonly 
made  by  a  pair  of  wolves,  one  of  whom  seized  the  victim 
by  the  neck  from  behind,  preventing  outcry,  while  the 
other,  coming  swiftly  up,  tore  out  the  entrails  in  front. 
These  confirmed  man-eaters  are  described  as  having  been 
exceedingly  wary,  and  fully  able  to  discriminate  between  a 
helpless  victim  and  an  armed  man. 

"  In  1 86 1,  I  was  marching  through  a  small  village  on 
the  borders  of  the  Damoh  district,  and  accidentally  heard 
that  for  months  past  a  pair  of  wolves  had  carried  off  a 
child  from  the  centre  of  the  village,  in  broad  daylight. 
No  attempt  whatever  had  been  made  to  kill  them,  though 
their  haunts  were  perfectly  well  known,  and  lay  not  a 
quarter  of  a  mile  from  the  town.  A  shapeless  stone,  rep- 
resenting the  goddess  Devi,  under  a  neighboring  tree,  had 
been  daubed  with  vermilion  instead,  and  liberally  propi- 
tiated with  cocoanuts  and  rice.  Their  plan  of  attack  was 
uniform  and  simple.  The  village  stood  on  the  slope  of 
a  hill,  at  the  foot  of  which  was  the  bed  of  a  stream 
thickly  fringed  with  grass  and  bushes.  The  main  street, 
where  children  were  always  at  play,  ran  down  the  slope  of 
this  hill,  and  while  one  of  the  wolves,  that  one  which  was 
smaller  than  the  other,  concealed  itself  among  some  low 
bushes  between  the  village  and  the  bottom  of  the  declivity, 
the  other  would  go  round  to  the  top,  and,  watching  for  an 
opportunity,  would  race  down  through  the  street,  picking 
up  a  child  by  the  way,  and  make  off  with  it  to  the  thick 
cover  in  the  nala.  At  first  the  people  used  to  pursue,  and 
sometimes  made  the  marauder  drop  his  prey ;  but  finding, 


The   Wolf  315 


as  they  said,  that  in  this  case  the  companion  wolf  usually 
succeeded  in  carrying  off  another  of  their  children  in  the 
confusion,  while  the  first  was  so  injured  as  to  be  beyond 
recovery,  they  ended,  like  impassive  Hindus  as  they  were, 
by  just  letting  the  wolves  take  away  as  many  of  their  off- 
spring as  they  wanted. 

"  A  child  of  a  few  years  of  age  had  thus  been  carried  off 
the  morning  of  my  arrival.  It  is  scarcely  credible  that  I 
could  not  at  first  get  enough  beaters  to  drive  the  cover 
where  these  atrocious  brutes  were  gorging  on  their  unholy 
meal.  At  last  a  few  of  those  outcast  helots,  who  act  as 
village  drudges  in  these  parts,  were  induced  to  take  sticks 
and  accompany  my  horse  keeper,  with  a  hog  spear,  and  my 
Sikh  orderly,  with  his  sword,  through  the  belt  of  grass, 
while  I  posted  myself,  with  a  double  rifle,  behind  a  tree  at 
the  other  end.  In  about  five  minutes  the  pair  walked 
leisurely  out  into  the  open  space  within  twenty  yards  of 
me.  They  were  evidently  mother  and  son ;  the  latter 
about  three  parts  grown,  with  a  reddish-yellow,  well-furred 
coat,  and  plump  appearance  ;  the  mother,  a  lean  and  griz- 
zled hag,  with  hideous  pendant  dugs,  and  slaver  dropping 
from  her  jaws.  I  gave  her  the  benefit  of  my  first  barrel, 
and  she  dropped  with  a  shot  through  both  shoulders.  The 
whelp  started  off,  but  the  second  barrel  stopped  him  also, 
with  a  bullet  in  the  neck." 

Whenever  wolves  hunt  in  numbers,  it  is  that  one  part 
may  lie  in  ambush,  and  the  other  drive  the  game,  or 
because  they  design  to  assail  enemies  they  are  well  aware 
a  few  could  not  overcome.  These  packs  only  hold  to- 
gether for  a  short  time,  and  their  formation  depends  upon 


316  Wild  Beasts 


the  accidental  presence  of  several  separate  bands  in  the 
same  vicinity  who  are  attracted  by  a  common  object,  or 
follow  each  other's  motions  like  carrion  birds.  This  is 
what  happens  in  the  neighborhood  of  remote  and  isolated 
settlements  in  Northern  Europe,  when  human  beings  are 
the  game  they  pursue.  Within  Russian  forests  and  those 
which  lie  near  lonely  villages  in  Sweden,  Norway,  and 
Swedish-Lapland,  small  packs  form  as  darkness  veils  the 
weird,  melancholy,  desolate  beauty  of  winter  landscapes. 
They  meet  irregularly,  with  the  vague,  fierce  feelings  of 
an  excited  mob.  The  band  is  brought  together  by  howl- 
ings,  and  it  sweeps  outward  into  the  open  on  an  indefinite 
quest.  Woe  betide  the  wolf  who  gives  out  during  this 
wild  gallop,  or  slips  his  shoulder  on  the  frozen  crust. 
Desperation  may  enable  him  to  conceal  the  accident  for  a 
few  strides,  but  discovery  is  certain,  and  he  is  instantly 
torn  to  pieces  and  devoured.  If  a  fresh  trail  be  found,  the 
pack  follows  it.  Human  voices  or  the  sound  of  sleigh-bells 
brings  down  the  wolves  like  a  storm-driven  cloud.  Men 
often  go  out  with  drags  fastened  to  sledges,  and  as 
their  purpose  is  simply  to  kill,  and  they  are  prepared,  and 
do  not  venture  too  far  from  the  villages,  these  hunters  gen- 
erally succeed  in  their  undertaking.  But  not  always ; 
many  a  sleighing  party  of  this  kind  has  not  returned, 
neither  men  nor  horses.  Many  a  belated  wayfarer  and 
party  of  travellers  have  never  reached  their  journey's  end. 
A  fleet  horse  will  for  a  time  outrun  wolves,  even  when  by 
stealthy  approaches  they  have  almost  closed  around  him, 
and  this  the  author  knows  from  experience  ;  but  it  will 
not  answer  to  go  far,  for  in  that  case  the  fugitive  will  cer- 
tainly be  caught. 


The   Wolf  317 


Turning  now  to  the  most  celebrated,  as  well  as  the 
largest  and  fiercest  member  of  this  family,  we  find  that  the 
Scandinavian  wolf  is  in  many  places  increasing  in  numbers, 
despite  the  various  means  which  are  made  use  of  for  its 
destruction.  L.  Lloyd  ("  Scandinavian  Adventures ") 
ascribes  this  to  immigration  from  Russia  and  Finland. 
However  this  may  be,  recent  writers  still  echo  the  lamen- 
tations of  Olaus  Magnus,  and  of  quaint  old  Bishop  Pontap- 
pidan  ("Natural  History  of  Norway")  to  the  effect  that 
the  country  is  overrun  by  them.  Thus  Von  Grieff  asserts 
that  in  many  localities  "  the  wolf  taxes  the  peasant  higher 
than  the  crown,"  and  J.  A.  Strom  expresses  himself  to 
much  the  same  effect. 

A  wolf  will  eat  any  sort  of  flesh,  irrespective  of  its  kind 
or  condition,  and  when  pressed  by  hunger  he  consumes 
vegetable  substances  also.  Pontappidan  says  that  one  was 
killed  whose  "  stomach  was  filled  with  moss  from  the  cliffs 
and  birch  tops."  Humboldt  states  that  famishing  wolves 
swallow  earth  like  the  Otomac  Indians  on  the  Orinoco. 

It  is  the  common  or  gray  wolf  —  the  only  one  known  in 
Scandinavia,  although  at  one  time  Nilsson  attempted  to 
erect  its  black  variety,  Canis  lycaon,  into  a  species  —  which 
those  authors  referred  to  speak  of  when  deploring  this 
creature's  destructiveness.  Lloyd  thinks  that  it  cannot  be 
extirpated  from  the  mountain  and  forest  regions  of  Sweden 
and  Norway.  The  animal  is  prolific.  A  female,  after  ten 
weeks'  gestation,  brings  forth  from  four  to  six,  and  even  nine 
cubs.  They  are  born  in  burrows,  inherit  great  constitutional 
vigor,  and  are  well  tended  upon  the  part  of  their  parents. 
Whatever  else  may  be  denied  the  wolf,  some  praise  for  do- 


318  Wild  Beasts 


mestic  virtues  cannot  in  fairness  be  withheld  from  him.  He 
hunts  diligently  and  disinterestedly  for  the  support  of  his 
mate  and  young,  and  when  these  (which  are  at  first  nearly 
black  and  look  like  foxes,  except  that  they  have  not  a  white 
tip  to  their  tails)  are  able  to  travel,  both  parents  carefully 
supervise  their  education.  Various  diseases  are  prevalent 
among  wolves,  and  many  die  of  sickness  ;  but  if  it  be  true 
that  hydrophobia  is  unknown  among  those  of  North- 
western Europe,  their  exemption  from  a  disorder  which 
afflicts  this  species  in  all  cold,  and  even  temperate  climates 
elsewhere,  must  be  looked  upon  as  an  unexplained  fact. 
During  the  rigorous  and  prolonged  winters  of  high  lati- 
tudes large  numbers  starve  to  death.  Men  shoot,  trap, 
and  poison  them  at  every  opportunity ;  they  often  kill 
one  another,  and  when  the  ice  breaks  up  in  the  greater 
inlets  of  the  north  Atlantic  and  Baltic,  multitudes  of 
wolves  that  have  been  hunting  the  young  of  seals  upon 
their  frozen  surfaces  perish. 

Buffon  seems  to  have  furnished  the  wolf's  character 
ready  made  for  use  by  subsequent  writers,  since  these  ap- 
pear to  have  done  little  more  than  copy  or  comment  upon 
his  text.  "  //  est  naturellement  grassier  et  poltron"  he  says, 
"  mais  il  devient  ingtmeux  par  besoin,  et  hardi  par  necessity  ; 
presse"  par  la  famine,  il  brave  le  danger"  —  that  is,  it  will 
come  out  of  the  depths  of  forests,  and  attack  domestic  ani- 
mals. "  Enfin,  lorsque  le  besoin  est  extreme,  il  s1  expose  a 
tout,  attaque  les  femmes  et  les  enfans,  se  jette  meme  quelque- 
fois  stir  les  hommes ;  devient  furieux  par  ces  excts,  qui 
finissent  ordinairement  par  la  rage  et  la  mort" 

Now  if  one  reads,  not  all,  for  that  would  be  impossible, 


The   Wolf  319 


but  a  great  many  accounts  of  actual  observations  upon 
wolves,  and  has  at  the  same  time  some  personal  knowl- 
edge of  these  brutes,  the  foregoing  will  prove  to  be  un- 
satisfactory. When  special  traits,  and  especially  those  of 
courage  and  enterprise,  are  examined  in  books,  flat  contra- 
dictions begin  to  appear.  Colonel  Dodge  ("  Plains  of  the 
Great  West ")  maintains  that  the  gray  wolf  of  America  is 
an  arrant  coward.  Ross  Cox  ("  Adventures  on  the  Colum- 
bia River")  asserts  that  he  is  "very  large  and  daring." 
Nobody  has  ever  denied  that  wolves  are  formidable  crea- 
tures which  can  be  dangerous  if  they  choose ;  what  their 
annalists  have  done  is  to  proceed  upon  the  assumption 
that  they  are  exactly  alike  everywhere,  and  give  the  gen- 
eral disposition  and  character  of  an  entire  race  from  a  few 
scattered  specimens  seen  by  themselves  in  some  particular 
localities.  Under  any  circumstances  it  would  be  useless  to 
discuss  the  wolfs  courage  without  having  previously' settled 
what  courage  in  a  wolf  is,  and  how  it  displays  itself.  Prin- 
ciple and  sentiment  have  nothing  to  do  with  it ;  appetite 
and  passion  are  its  sole  incentives.  To  compare  it,  then, 
with  that  of  some  savage  warrior  in  whom  a  certain  stan- 
dard of  action  always  exists,  is  unallowable.  Yet  this  is 
continually  done,  not  openly  and  avowedly  perhaps,  but 
evidently  in  effect. 

Audubon  ("  Quadrupeds  of  North  America  ")  saw  wolf- 
traps  in  Kentucky.  "  Each  pit  was  covered  with  a  revolv- 
ing platform  of  interlaced  boughs  and  twigs,  and  attached 
to  a  cross-piece  of  timber  that  served  for  an  axle.  On  this 
light  platform,  which  was  balanced  by  a  heavy  stick  of 
wood  fastened  to  the  under  side,  a  large  piece  of  putrid 


320  Wild  Beasts 


venison  was  tied  for  a  bait."  Visiting  one  of  these  pits 
in  the  morning,  with  its  constructor  and  his  dogs,  three 
wolves,  "  two  black  and  one  brindled,"  were  found  to  have 
been  caught.  "  They  were  lying  flat  on  the  earth,  with 
their  ears  close  down  to  their  heads,  and  their  eyes  indi- 
cating fear  more  than  anger."  It  is  said  by  Felix  Oswald, 
("  Zoological  Sketches  ")  that  pitfalls  always  cow  animals. 
At  all  events,  in  this  case,  the  farmer,  axe  and  knife  in 
hand,  descended  and  hamstrung  them.  Audubon  stood 
above  with  a  gun  and  the  dogs,  to  whom  these  helpless 
creatures  were  thrown  to  be  worried.  None  of  the  cap- 
tives made  any  resistance  worth  mentioning  because  they 
were  such  cowards  !  If  a  lion  of  the  Atlas,  however,  comes 
ramping  down  upon  an  Arab  douar,  leaps  over  the  fence  of 
a  cattle-pen,  and  finds  himself  at  the  bottom  of  a  trench,  he 
meets  death  with  the  same  resignation.  But  that  is  on 
account  of  the  dignity  of  his  character.  No  mortal  knows 
what  either  animal  thinks  or  feels,  and,  since  there  is  no 
difference  between  their  demeanors,  it  would  be  quite  as 
easy  to  make  the  death  scene  of  the  wolf  poetic,  and  prob- 
ably fully  as  much  in  accordance  with  the  truth. 

What  has  been  said  of  fortitude  applies  equally  to  other 
qualities.  It  seems  reasonable  to  allow  wolves  some  part 
in  deciding  what  enterprises  they  shall  undertake,  which 
way  an  attack  ought  to  be  made,  and  whether  the  risk  of 
any  adventure  is  likely  to  overbalance  its  advantages. 
They  are  very  well  acquainted  with  the  business  which  it 
falls  to  their  lot  in  life  to  transact,  and  since  the  days  have 
gone  when  Greek  lycanthropes,  German  wahr-wolves,  and 
French  loupgarous  appeared  among  mankind,  not  anybody 


The   Wolf  321 


is  able  to  put  himself  in  this  animal's  place  so  completely 
as  to  appreciate  those  motives  by  which  it  is  actuated. 

Wolves  differ  with  their  geographical  position,  with  the 
peoples  that  come  in  contact  with  them,  and  in  virtue  of 
individual  peculiarities.  What  has  been  done  by  them 
anywhere,  might  undoubtedly  occur  again  if  the  condi- 
tions remained  unaltered.  Dr.  Henry  Lansdell  ("  Russian 
Central  Asia")  knew  of  .Tartars  on  the  steppes  who  rode 
down  the  wolf  and  beat  it  to  death  with  their  heavy  whips. 
He  likewise  learned  that  shepherds  in  the  Caucasus  pro- 
tected their  flocks  by  means  of  dogs.  Yet  his  native 
attendants,  as  he  reports  with  some  surprise,  actually 
allowed  themselves  to  become  alarmed  at  the  threatened 
attack  of  a  pack  on  the  road  from  Kabakli  to  Petro-Alexan- 
drovsk. 

T.  W.  Atkinson's  views  ("Oriental  and  Western 
Siberia ")  were  not  so  decided,  and  his  experiences  in 
these  latitudes  had  been  different.  He  saw  plenty  of 
wolves  in  the  valley  of  the  Ouba,  and  they  had  followed 
his  party  on  the  plains  of  Mongolia.  Cossacks  assured 
him  ("Travels  in  the  Region  of  the  Amoor")  that  trav- 
ellers upon  the  steppe  were  often  devoured,  and  bands  of 
these  grim  beasts  frequently  gathered  about  his  camp  by 
night.  On  one  occasion  while  hunting  he  observed  a  fine 
maral  —  the  large  stag  of  high  altitudes  in  the  Ac-tan, 
Ale-tan,  and  Mus-tan  regions  —  run  into  by  three  of  these 
brutes.  "  The  ravenous  beasts  were  tearing  the  noble 
creature  to  pieces  while  yet  breathing,"  when  two  bear- 
coots  —  black  Tartar  eagles  —  sailed  over  the  spot,  and 
one  swooped.  "  The  wolves  caught  sight  of  them  in  an 

Y 


322 


Wild  Beasts 


instant  .  .  .  and  stood  on  their  defence.  ...  In  a  few 
seconds  the  first  bearcoot  struck  his  prey  ;  one  talon  was 
fixed  on  his  back,  the  other  on  the  upper  part  of  his  neck, 
completely  securing  the  head,  while  he  tore  out  the  liver 
with  his  beak.  The  other  eagle  seized  another  wolf,  and 
shortly  both  were  as  lifeless  as  the  animal  they  had 
hunted." 

This  explorer,  however,  so  far  departed  from  the  rule  in 
such  cases  made  and  provided,  that  he  did  not  imme- 
diately generalize  the  character  of  all  the  wolves  in  Asia 
from  his  observations  of  those  two  that  permitted  them- 
selves to  be  killed  by  a  pair  of  birds.  On  the  contrary, 
when  a  pack  followed  his  party  in  Mongolia,  he  was  pre- 
pared to  look  upon  it  as  a  serious  matter.  They  were  in 
camp,  the  weather  was  mild,  game  abounded,  and  it  was  a 
beautiful  night.  "  Before  long  we  could  hear  their  feet 
beat  upon  the  ground  as  they  galloped  towards  us.  In  a 
very  short  while  the  troop  came  up  and  gave  a  savage 
howl.  The  men  now  placed  some  dry  bushes  on  the  fire 
(which  had  been  allowed  to  sink  by  the  Kalmucks  and 
Kalkas,  lest  its  light  should  attract  robbers),  and  blew  it 
up  into  a  bright  flame  which  sent  its  red  glare  far  beyond 
us,  disclosing  the  wolves,  their  ears  and  tails  erect,  and 
their  eyes  flashing  fire.  At  this  instant  I  gave  the  signal, 
and  our  volley  was  poured  in  with  deadly  effect,  for  the 
horrible  howling  they  set  up  showed  what  mischief  had 
been  done.  We  did  not  move  to  collect  our  game  —  that 
might  be  done  in  the  morning.  Our  pieces  were  reloaded 
as  fast  as  possible,  for  the  Kalmucks  warned  us  that  the 
wolves  would  return.  We  could  hear  them  snarling, 


The  Wolf  323 


and  some  of  the  wounded  howling,  but  they  were  too  far 
away  to  risk  a  shot.  The  fire  was  let  down,  and  we 
remained  perfectly  quiet. 

"  We  were  not  long  left  in  ignorance  of  their  intentions. 
Shortly  there  was  a  great  commotion  among  our  horses, 
and  we  discovered  that  the  pack  had  divided  and  were 
stealing  up  to  our  animals  on  each  side,  between  us  and 
the  water.  The  Kalkas  and  Kalmucks  rushed  up  to  our 
steeds,  uttering  loud  shouts,  and  this  drove  the  wolves  back 
again.  It  was  now  necessary  to  guard  the  horses  on  three 
sides,  as  we  could  hear  the  savage  brutes  quite  near.  The 
men  anticipated  that  they  would  make  a  rush,  cause  the 
animals  to  break  away,  and  then  hunt  them  down.  A 
Cossack  and  Kalmuck  turned  to  guard  the  approaches  on 
each  side,  and  I  remained  watching  at  the  front.  The  fire 
was  relighted  and  kept  in  a  constant  blaze  by  Kalkas  add- 
ing small  bushes,  and  this  enabled  us  to  see  as  well  as 
hear  our  savage  enemies.  Presently  I  discovered  their 
glaring  eyeballs  moving  to  and  fro,  nearer  and  nearer ; 
then  I  could  distinguish  their  grizzly  forms  pushing  each 
other  on.  At  this  moment  the  rifles  cracked  to  my  right, 
and  the  fire  sent  up  a  bright  blaze,  which  enabled  me  to  make 
sure  of  one  fellow  as  he  turned  his  side  towards  me.  I 
sent  the  second  ball  into  the  pack,  and  more  than  one 
must  have  been  wounded  from  the  howling  that  came  from 
this  direction.  The  other  men  had  also  fired,  and  I  did 
not  doubt  with  equal  effect,  for  it  was  certain  that  they 
would  not  throw  a  shot  away.  In  a  few  minutes  the 
growling  ceased,  and  all  was  still  except  the  snorting  of 
some  of  the  horses.  Both  Kalkas  and  Kalmucks  assured 


324  Wild  Beasts 


me  that  the  wolves  would  make  another  attack,  and  said 
that  no  one  must  sleep  on  his  post. 

"  To  increase  our  difficulty,  we  now  had  but  few  bushes 
left,  and  none  could  be  obtained  near  us ;  therefore  it 
would  only  be  by  a  most  vigilant  watch  that  we  could  now 
save  our  horses.  The  night,  too,  became  very  dark,  and 
nothing  could  be  seen  at  a  short  distance  except  towards 
the  lake,  where  any  dark  object  might  be  observed  against 
the  dim  light  that  rested  on  the  water.  Sharp  and  keen 
eyes  were  peering  out  in  every  direction,  but  no  wolf  was 
seen,  nor  sound  heard.  The  Kalkas  said  the  wolves  were 
waiting  till  all  was  still,  and  then  they  would  make  a  dash 
at  the  horses. 

"  We  had  been  watching  a  long  time  without  the  slight- 
est movement,  when  two  of  the  horses  became  uneasy, 
tugging  at  the  thongs  and  snorting.  The  clouds  rolled 
off,  the  stars  came  forth  and  reflected  more  light  upon  the 
lake.  Presently  howling  was  heard  in  the  distance,  and 
Tchuck-a-boi  declared  that  another  pack  of  wolves  was 
coming.  When  they  approached  nearer,  those  that  had 
been  keeping  guard  over  us  so  quietly  began  to  growl,  and 
let  us  know  that  they  were  not  far  away.  As  it  was  now 
deemed  absolutely  necessary  to  procure  some  bushes,  four 
of  my  men  crept  quietly  along  the  shore  of  the  lake,  two 
being  armed,  and  in  about  ten  minutes  they  returned,  each 
of  them  having  an  armful  of  fuel.  The  embers  were 
rekindled,  and  material  placed  on  them,  ready  to  be  blown 
into  a  flame  the  moment  it  was  needed.  The  sounds  we 
heard  in  the  distance  had  ceased  for  some  time,  when 
suddenly  there  was  a  great  commotion.  The  other  wolves 


The  Wolf  325 


had  come  up,  and  the  growling  and  snarling  became  furi- 
ous. How  much  I  wished  for  light,  in  order  to  witness 
the  battle  that  seemed  likely  to  ensue.  For  a  time  there 
seemed  to  be  individual  combats  ;  but  there  was  no  gen- 
eral engagement,  and  soon  all  became  still  as  before. 
Again  we  waited,  looking  out  for  more  than  half  an  hour, 
when  the  horses  began  pulling  and  plunging  violently; 
but  we  could  see  nothing.  The  men  now  blew  up  the 
embers,  and  in  a  few  minutes  the  bushes  burst  into  a 
blaze,  and  then  I  saw  a  group  of  eight  or  ten  wolves 
within  fifteen  paces,  and  others  beyond.  In  a  moment  I 
gave  them  the  contents  of  both  barrels,  the  others  fired  at 
the  same  instant,  and  the  pack  set  up  a  frightful  howl  and 
scampered  off."  Atkinson  found  eight  dead  bodies  next 
morning,  and  the  bloody  trails  of  many  wounded  that  had 
gone  off. 

How  would  this  party  have  fared  if  instead  of  warm 
weather,  and  the  presence  of  a  pack  that  merely  desired  to 
gratify  their  taste  for  horse  flesh,  and  showed  their  willing- 
ness to  brave  fire  and  rifle-balls  to  this  end,  the  steppe  had 
been  snowy  and  the  animals  starving?  There  seems  to 
be  no  more  doubt  that  a  considerable  detachment  of 
Russian  infantry  was  destroyed  by  wolves  about  fifty  years 
ago  in  the  passes  of  the  Ural  Mountains,  than  there  is 
that  the  dragoon  by  whom  Wellington  sent  his  despatch 
after  the  battle  of  Albuera  was  eaten,  together  with  his 
horse.  "  Daring  as  the  wolf  was  in  olden  times,"  says 
Lloyd,  speaking  of  that  found  in  Scandinavia,  "  he  has  lost 
nothing  of  his  audacity  at  the  present  day."  In  proof  of 
which  he  collects  from  newspapers,  parish  registers,  oiri- 


326  Wild  Beasts 


cial  reports,  and  the  testimony  of  eye-witnesses,  a  state- 
ment of  the  ravages  of  wolves  among  domestic  animals 
and  human  beings  that  almost  equals  those  mediaeval 
notices  in  which  their  evil  deeds  have  been  recorded  from 
one  end  of  Europe  to  the  other.  None  of  these,  or  rather, 
none  the  writer  has  met  with,  rival  that  recital  given  by 
James  Grant  ("  The  Wild  Beast  of  Gevaudan").  French, 
Dutch,  Belgian,  and  English  journals,  during  1765,  were 
full  of  those  events  of  which  a  brief  abstract  is  inserted, 
and  their  prolonged  occurrence  finally  came  to  be  an  affair 
of  grave  importance  to  the  government  of  France. 

In  that  year  a  beast,  not  identified  as  a  wolf  until  after 
its  death,  created  a  reign  of  terror  in  the  forest  country  of 
Provence  and  Languedoc,  devouring  eighty  people  about 
Gevaudan.  "  Qui  a  dtvore'  phis  que  quatrevingt  personnes 
dans  le  Gevaudan"  says  the  official  report.  A  drawing 
(from  description)  was  sent  to  the  Intendant  of  Alengon, 
and  as  this  looked  more  like  a  hyena  than  anything  else, 
it  was  given  out  that  one  of  these  brutes  was  at  large. 
The  province  offered  a  thousand  crowns  for  its  head,  the 
Archbishop  ordered  prayers  for  public  preservation,  and 
the  commanding  officer  of  the  department  scoured  the 
country  with  light  cavalry.  These  measures  failed,  and 
after  a  troop  of  the  loth  dragoons  had  pursued  it  for  six 
weeks  through  the  mountainous  parts  of  Languedoc,  and 
though  it  was  seen  several  times,  had  failed  to  come  up  with 
the  animal,  the  reward  was  increased  to  ten  thousand  livres, 
and  Louis  XV.  offered  six  thousand  more.  High  masses 
innumerable  were  said,  and  cavalry,  bands  of  game-keepers, 
and  gentlemen  with  their  servants,  sought  the  monster  in 


The  Wolf  327 


all  directions.  Hunters  by  thousands  were  in  search  of  it 
for  months,  and  in  the  meantime  its  howl  was  heard  in 
village  streets  at  night,  children  and  women  were  killed  in 
their  farmyards,  woodcutters  lost  their  lives  in  forests, 
and  men  were  dragged  out  of  vehicles  on  the  public  roads 
by  day. 

At  last  the  Sieur  de  la  Chaumette,  a  famous  wolf  slayer, 
appeared  upon  the  scene.  His  two  brothers  accompanied 
him,  and  they  actually  found  and  wounded  the  animal. 
The  chase  was  taken  up  by  him  again,  and  he  was  joined 
by  a  party  of  hunters  picked  from  the  most  expert  forest- 
ers of  fifty  parishes.  It  was  in  vain,  however,  for  they 
never  viewed  their  quarry  again.  In  September,  1765,  the 
Sieur  de  Blanterne,  in  company  with  two  associates,  shot 
the  wild  beast  of  Gevaudan,  which  had  ravaged  a  large  re- 
gion of  Southern  France  for  nearly  a  year.  The  carcass 
was  sent  to  Paris,  and  proved  to  be  that  of  an  enormous 
wolf. 

A  creature  capable  of  killing  one  man,  is  able,  all  things 
being  equal,  to  kill  a  dozen  or  a  hundred. 

Wolves'  ravages  are  at  present  confined  to  places  from 
which  we  have  no  reports,  and  that  is  the  reason  why  pub- 
lic opinion  always  places  such  occurrences  in  the  past.  In 
all  essentials  wolves  are  potentially  the  same  as  ever,  but 
their  relations  to  mankind  differ  according  to  geographical 
position.  In  one  place  they  are  harmless  and  timid,  in 
another  they  are  aggressive  and  dangerous.  Throughout 
the  Arctic  regions  of  the  earth,  where  one  might  imagine 
that  privation  would  render  them  audacious,  they  generally 
avoid  the  presence  of  human  beings  and  are  not  often 


328  Wild  Beasts 


seen.  Franklin,  Back,  and  Parry  have  little  to  say  about 
them,  and  it  is  the  same  with  many  other  travellers  in  their 
northern  haunts.  Bush,  Kennan,  Cotteau,  Seabohn,  Col- 
lins, Price,  etc.,  have  no  information  of  any  importance  to 
give.  Even  Dr.  Richardson,  the  naturalist,  passes  them 
by  nearly  unnoticed,  and  Rink  ("  Danish  Greenland "), 
in  his  collection  of  the  "  Tales  and  Traditions  of  the 
Eskimo,"  is  silent  on  this  subject.  All  these  authors, 
however,  refer  to  other  animals  of  the  Arctic.  Dr. 
Harris  ("  Navigantium  atque  Itinerantium  Bibliotheca ") 
finds  places  for  the  bear,  musk-ox,  fox,  wolverene,  in  his 
immense  repository  of  facts  and  impressions,  but  none 
for  the  wolf. 

A  somewhat  comprehensive  acquaintance  with  what 
has  been  said  concerning  this  creature,  disposes  the 
writer  to  think,  that  the  silence  of  explorers  with 
regard  to  a  beast  that  would  naturally  attract  atten- 
tion, is  explained  by  Captain  Ross  ("  Voyage  to  Baffin's 
Bay").  In  his  first  expedition  the  wolf  is  not  mentioned 
among  those  animals  described  in  the  "  Fauna  of  the  Arc- 
tic Highlands  "  ;  but  in  his  narrative  of  the  "  Second  Voy- 
age" he  says,  "  the  perpetual  hunting  of  the  natives  seems 
to  prevent  deer,  together  with  those  beasts  of  prey  that 
follow  on  their  traces,  from  remaining  in  their  vicinity." 
Dr.  John  D.  Godman  ("  American  Natural  History  ")  con- 
tradicts Ross  flatly,  and  asserts  that  "  in  the  highest 
northern  latitudes  .  .  .  wolves  are  very  numerous  and 
exceedingly  audacious.  They  are  generally  to  be  found 
at  no  great  distance  from  the  huts  of  Esquimaux,  and  fol- 
low these  people  from  place  to  place,  being  apparently 


The  Wolf  329 


much  dependent  upon  them  for  food  during  the  coldest 
season  of  the  year."  Godman  does  not  say  whether  his 
information  was  got  at  first  hand,  or  taken  from  others, 
but  there  is  no  doubt  as  to  the  fact  that  he  is  wrong. 
High  latitudes  do  not  furnish  permanent  habitats  for  game. 
Reindeer  or  caribou  are  not  only  migratory,  but  wander 
constantly  ;  the  latter  being,  as  Charles  C.  Ward  remarks, 
"  a  very  Ishmaelite  "  in  its  habits.  The  same  is  true  of 
other  animals  upon  which  wolves  subsist,  and  the  idea  of 
their  living  in  any  numbers  upon  Eskimo  leavings  is 
amusing. 

Milton  and  Cheadle  ("The  North-west  Passage  by 
Land  ")  give  much  the  same  explanation  as  Captain  Ross 
for  the  fact  that  wolves  are  so  rarely  seen  in  the  far  north. 
"  Wild  animals  of  any  kind,"  they  inform  us,  "  are  seldom 
viewed  in  the  Hudson  Bay  territories,  unless  they  are  care- 
fully tracked  up.  They  are  so  constantly  hunted,  .  .  .  and 
whenever  they  encounter  man,  are  so  invariably  pursued, 
that  they  are  ever  on  their  guard,  and  escape  without  being 
seen."  Forced  to  range  widely  because  the  character  of 
this  region  involves  constant  change  of  place  upon  the  part 
of  their  principal  game,  and  made  wary  to  the  last  degree 
by  perpetual  hostilities,  it  might  well  be  that  travellers 
found  them  absent  from  those  regions  they  explored,  and 
scarcely  had  an  opportunity  to  observe  such  as  were  actu- 
ally in  their  vicinity.  Thus  Parry  ("  Journal  "),  who  was 
struck  by  their  shyness,  says,  "  it  is  very  extraordinary  that 
no  man  could  succeed  in  killing  or  capturing  one  of  these 
animals,  though  we  were  for  months  almost  constantly 
endeavoring  to  do  so." 


330 


Wild  Beasts 


Something,  however,  may  depend  upon  local  variety. 
Captain  Koldewey  ("  German  Arctic  Expedition ")  tells 
us  that  "  the  peculiar  —  species,  he  calls  it  —  of  wolf  met 
with  in  other  arctic  neighborhoods  is  not  found  in  East 
Greenland  ;  neither  is  the  wolf-like  dog  now  dying  out 
from  disease."  Brown  ("  Fauna  of  Greenland  ")  takes  the 
same  view,  but  whatever  the  facts  may  be,  dogs  and  wolves 
have  sometimes  been  known  to  treat  each  other  very  dif- 
ferently. Sir  Edward  Belcher  ("  The  Last  of  the  Arctic 
Voyages  ")  saw  a  wolf,  which  he  at  first  supposed  from  its 
appearance  to  be  one  of  Sir  John  Franklin's  surviving  dogs, 
come  up  to  his  own  team  on  the  sledge  journey  of  1853. 
"  It  did  not  quarrel  with  them.  ...  Its  habits  were  cer- 
tainly very  peculiar ;  it  cared  not  for  us,  and  frequently 
approached  so  near  that  it  might  have  been  shot,  but  was 
not  disposed  to  make  friends."  Even  if  the  tameness  of 
this  animal  had  been  due  to  starvation,  that  would  not  have 
accounted  for  the  friendliness  of  Belcher's  dogs.  General 
A.  W.  Greely  ("Three  Years  of  Arctic  Service")  reports  of 
his,  that  "  whenever  wolves  were  near  they  exhibited  signs 
of  uneasiness,  if  not  of  fear."  Captain  Ross  noticed  that 
his  dogs  at  Boothia  Felix  "  trembled  and  howled  "  when- 
ever wolves  approached  them.  It  is  well  known,  however, 
that  in  the  arctic,  as  elsewhere,  these  animals  interbreed. 
Godman  gives  the  following  :  "  Scientia  naturali  multum 
versato  et  fide  digno  viro  Sabina,  se  canem  Terrce-novce  cum 
lupa  coire  frequenter  vidis"  Theodore  Roosevelt  and 
others  speak  of  the  same  thing  as  coming  under  their  per- 
sonal cognizance. 

In  high  latitudes  of  America  and  Asia  the  wolf's  attitude 


The   Wolf  331 


towards  man  is  inconstant  to  a  marked  degree.  Much  dif- 
ference is  doubtless  due  to  influences  both  general  and 
local,  permanent  and  temporary,  which  it  is  impossible  to 
ascertain  from  any  accounts.  The  packs  C.  A.  Hall 
("  Arctic  Researches ")  met  with  near  "  Frobishers'  Far- 
thest," and  at  J.  K.  Smith's  Island,  manifested  none  of 
that  timidity  which  has  been  remarked  upon  as  the  conse- 
quence of  constant  persecution.  On  the  contrary,  "they 
were  bold,"  says  Hall,  "  approaching  quite  near,  watching 
our  movements,  opening  their  mouths,  snapping  their 
teeth,  and  smacking  their  chops,  as  if  already  feasting  on 
human  flesh  and  blood."  Similarly,  "eleven  big  fellows 
crossed  the  path  "  of  O.  W.  Wahl  ("  Land  of  the  Czar  ") 
"  one  winter  day,  near  Stavropol."  They  merely  inspected 
the  travellers  and  went  on.  Colonel  N.  Prejevalsky 
("  From  Kulja  across  the  Tian  Shan  to  Lob-nor  ")  saw  but 
few  wolves,  and  in  his  report  upon  the  fauna  of  the  Tarim 
valley,  he  remarks  that  they  "  are  unfrequent,  if  not  rare." 
During  his  expedition  ("Mongolia"),  however,  the  Tibetan 
wolf,  Lupus  chanco,  the  same  animal  he  thinks  that 
the  Mongols  of  Kan-su  call  tsobr,  but  really  the  common 
species  under  one  of  its  many  changes  of  color,  was  found 
to  be  "  savage  and  impudent."  Captain  William  Gill  ("  The 
River  of  Golden  Sand ")  saw  "  here  and  there  "  on  the 
broken  and  undulating  plains  of  Mongolia  near  the  Chinese 
frontier,  "small  villages  surrounded  by  a  wall  to  protect 
them  from  the  troops  of  wolves  that  in  the  desolate  winter 
scour  the  barrens  of  San-Tai." 

Nothing  would  be   gained   by  multiplying   references, 
which  might  easily  be  given  ad  nauseam  without  finding 


332  Wild  Beasts 


that  there  was  any  particular  change  in  their  tenor. 
Enough  have  been  already  presented  to  show  how  utterly 
valueless  are  those  sweeping  conclusions  upon  the  charac- 
ter and  habits  of  wolves,  which  we  are  too  much  accustomed 
to  see.  The  widest  generalization  on  this  subject  that  can 
be  made  with  any  approach  to  certainty,  is  that  these 
animals,  over  and  above  their  specific  traits,  are  what  their 
situations  and  the  experiences  connected  with  ordinary 
and  every-day  life  make  them.  It  is  a  well-attested  fact 
that  the  wolf  may  be  domesticated,  and  instances  of  this 
kind  are  not  uncommon.  Audubon,  for  example,  saw  them 
drawing  the  small  carts  in  which  Assiniboin  Indians 
brought  their  peltries  into  Fort  Union.  Samuel  Hearne 
("A  Journey  from  Prince  of  Wales  Fort  in  Hudson  Bay, 
to  the  Northern  Ocean  ")  gives  an  account  of  certain  things 
seen  by  himself,  which  seem  to  indicate  that  these  ani- 
mals occasionally  bear  like  relations  to  savages  with 
those  which  must  have  subsisted  when  they  were  first 
reclaimed.  "Wolves,"  he  says,  "are  very  frequently 
met  with  in  those  countries  west  of  Hudson's  Bay, 
both  on  the  barren  grounds  and  among  the  woods ;  but 
they  are  not  numerous.  It  is  very  uncommon  to  see 
more  than  three  or  four  of  them  in  a  herd.  .  .  .  All 
the  wolves  in  Hudson's  Bay  are  very  shy  of  the  human 
race.  .  .  .  They  are  great  enemies  to  the  Indian  dogs, 
and  constantly  kill  and  eat  those  that  are  heavy  loaded 
and  cannot  keep  up  with  the  main  body.  .  .  .  The 
females  are  much  swifter  than  males,  for  which  reason, 
the  Indians,  both  northern  and  southern,  are  of  opinion 
that  they  kill  the  greatest  part  of  the  game."  This,  how- 


The  Wolf  333 


ever,  cannot  be  the  case,  Hearne  observes,  because  they 
live  apart  during  winter,  and  do  not  associate  till  towards 
spring.  "They  always  burrow  under  ground  to  bring 
forth  their  young ;  and  it  is  natural  to  suppose  that  they 
are  very  fierce  at  those  times ;  yet  I  have  very  frequently 
seen  even  the  Indians  go  to  their  dens,  take  out  the  young 
ones  and  play  with  them.  I  never  knew  a  northern  Indian 
to  hurt  one  of  them  ;  on  the  contrary,  they  always  carefully 
put  them  into  the  den  again ;  and  I  have  sometimes  seen 
them  paint  the  faces  of  the  young  wolves  with  vermilion 
or  red  ochre." 

This  statement  of  the  friendliness  existing  between  man 
and  these  beasts  is  unique.  James  Morier  in  the  moun- 
tains of  Armenia,  Persia,  and  Asia  Minor,  Douglas  Fresh- 
field  in  the  Central  Caucasus,  Atkinson,  Prejevalsky,  and 
Gill  in  Northern  Asia,  Forsyth,  Hunter,  and  Pollok  in 
India  and  Indo-China,  and  a  host  of  witnesses  in  Europe 
and  America,  have  given  evidence  to  their  destructiveness 
and  to  the  enmity  with  which  they  are  regarded. 

There  never  has  been  any  question  with  respect  to  the 
wolf's  intelligence.  His  sagacity  and  cunning  are  of  the 
highest  brute  order  ;  and  although,  if  one  looks  at  a  longi- 
tudinal section  of  his  brain,  it  appears  poorly  developed, 
when  compared  with  that  of  a  dog,  resembling,  to  use 
Lockington's  simile,  a  pear  with  the  small  end  for- 
wards, the  latter  animal  is  probably  not  inferior  to  the 
former  in  natural  faculty.  "If  we  could  subtract,"  says 
Professor  Romanes  ("  Animal  Intelligence "),  "  from  the 
domestic  dog  all  those  influences  arising  from  his  prolonged 
companionship  with  man,  and  at  the  same  time  intensify 


334  Wild  Beasts 


the  feelings  of  self-reliance,  rapacity,  etc.,  we  should  get 
the  emotional  character  now  presented  by  wolves  and 
jackals."  The  former  need  to  be  wise  in  their  generation, 
for  it  is  but  seldom  that  their  "  ways  are  ways  of  pleasant- 
ness," and  their  paths  are  never  those  of  peace.  Their 
gaunt  frames  and  voracious  appetites  have  become  common 
colloquialisms,  and  each  has  to  match  his  astuteness  against 
all  the  devices  for  his  destruction  that  human  ingenuity 
can  invent. 

Lloyd  describes  the  amenities  and  virtues  that  adorned 
the  character  of  a  wolf  cub  belonging  to  Madame  Bedoire ; 
how  it  guarded  her  premises,  rrmde  friends  with  her  dog, 
went  walking  with  its  mistress,  played  with  her  children, 
and  howled  when  she  did  not  caress  it.  The  biography  of 
this  blessed  infant  was  written  by  a  lady ;  Lloyd  merely 
inserts  the  account.  It  had  to  be  shot  when  it  was  a  year 
old.  He  himself  had  a  young  she-wolf  whose  most  notice- 
able actions  seemed  to  be  connected  with  her  endeavors  to 
get  pigs  within  reach  of  where  she  was  chained.  "  When 
she  saw  a  pig  in  the  vicinity  of  her  kennel,  she,  evidently 
with  the  intention  of  putting  him  off  his  guard,  would 
throw  herself  on  her  side  or  back,  roll,  wag  her  tail  most 
lovingly,  and  look  like  innocence  personified";  but  if,  as 
occasionally  happened,  the  pig's  mind  was  impressed  with 
these  artless  ebullitions  of  youthful  joy,  and  it  came  near 
enough,  the  creature  was  done  for.  While  Sir  Edward 
Belcher's  ship  lay  in  winter  quarters  a  wolf  haunted  her 
vicinity.  He  sat  under  her  stern,  he  beguiled  the  dogs 
away,  he  drove  off  all  the  game.  Then  they  tried  to  kill 
or  capture  him,  but  in  vain.  When  pieces  of  meat  were 


The  Wolf  335 


fixed  at  the  muzzles  of  loaded  muskets,  he  fired  off  the 
guns  and  ate  the  bait.  Seated  upon  a  hill,  just  out  of 
range,  this  "  charmed  wolf,"  as  the  men  called  him,  "  nar- 
rowly watched  the  proceedings  of  those  engaged  in  further 
schemes  for  his  destruction,  and  exulted  possibly  in  his 
superior  wisdom."  Belcher's  sailors  began  to  believe  this 
animal  to  be  one  of  the  officers  of  Sir  John  Franklin's  lost 
ship,  the  Erebus.  Dr.  Rae  reports  the  case  of  a  wolf  that 
cut  the  string  fastened  to  the  trigger  of  a  gun  before  taking 
the  meat  placed  in  front  of  it.  And  Audubon  relates  that 
wolves  watch  fishermen  in  the  northern  lakes,  pull  their 
lines  up,  and  appropriate  the  catch.  They  gnaw  through 
heavy  timber  into  caches  and  undermine  dead-falls.  They 
uncover  and  spring  steel  traps,  and  are  as  difficult  to  be- 
guile as  the  wolverene  —  it  is  impossible  to  say  more. 
Captain  Lyon's  crew. caught  a  wolf  in  a  trap  that  pre- 
tended to  be  dead  when  the  men  who  set  it  arrived. 
Wherever  men  carry  firearms  the  wolf  appreciates  their 
effectiveness,  and  is  perfectly  well  aware  that  his  coat  will 
not  turn  a  rifle-ball.  But  while  this  exercises  an  obvious 
influence  upon  his  general  behavior,  in  most  cases  the 
ability  to  see  the  movements  of  his  enemy  seems  to  lessen 
his  dread  of  what  may  happen.  If  several  are  together 
when  fired  at,  they  will  scamper  off ;  but  it  is  very  common 
to  see  them  turn  when  they  think  themselves  safe,  and 
regard  their  adversary  with  strict  attention. 

Upon  the  whole,  it  is  doubtful  whether  wolves  have  been 
much  diminished  in  numbers  anywhere,  except  in  places 
where  the  country  has  become  thickly  settled.  While 
these  creatures  have  solitudes  to  fall  back  upon,  they  make 


336  Wild  Beasts 


use  of  those  great  advantages  in  the  struggle  for  existence 
which  they  possess.  Their  speed,  endurance,  and  hardi- 
hood, the  number  produced  at  a  birth,  and  their  exceeding 
sagacity,  qualify  this  race  to  fight  the  battle  of  life,  hard  as 
it  is  in  most  instances,  in  a  manner  that  but  few  animals 
of  any  kind  can  equal. 

There  are  two  reasons  why,  in  the  midst  of  fragmentary 
notices  and  romances  innumerable,  authentic  annals  of 
American  frontier  life  are  so  meagre  in  their  accounts  of 
what  these  beasts  have  done.  The  first  is  that  our  earlier 
settlers  were  men  such  as  they  have  encountered  nowhere 
else,  and  the  wolves  were  soon  cowed.  In  the  second 
place,  perils  threatened  those  living  on  the  border,  which 
were  so  much  more  imminent  than  any  which  ever 
became  actual  through  the  agency  of  wolves  that  these 
beasts  came  to  be  disregarded.  Those  depredations  and 
murders  which  they  really  perpetrated  were  only  per- 
petuated in  tradition,  and  when  survivals  of  this  kind 
came  to  be  recast  by  writers  who,  besides  being  unac- 
quainted with  all  the  facts,  knew  nothing  about  the 
animals  themselves,  they  at  once  assumed  a  form  that 
was  stamped  with  all  the  incongruities  of  crude  inven- 
tion, and  served  only  to  conceal  more  effectually  that 
portion  of  truth  upon  which  these  poor  fictions  were 
constructed. 

It  is  probable  that  all,  who,  having  really  observed  the 
character  of  those  wolves  that  inhabit  what  were  once  the 
buffalo  ranges  of  the  Northwest,  and  then  going  southward 
made  the  acquaintance  of  that  large,  yellowish-red  wolf 
called  the  lobo,  in  Mexico,  will  admit  that  there  is  much 


The  Wolf  337 


difference  between  them.  In  the  Sierra  Madre  two  wolves 
are  commonly  considered  to  be  a  match  for  a  man  armed 
as  these  people  usually  are,  and  unless  the  whole  popula- 
tion have  conspired  together  for  the  purpose  of  propagating 
falsehoods  on  this  particular  subject,  it  must  be  believed 
that  the  lobo  is  often  guilty  of  manslaughter.  It  has  not 
happened  to  the  writer  to  be  personally  cognizant  of  the 
death  of  any  victim  of  theirs,  but  riding  westward  one  day 
through  the  forests  of  that  mountainous  country  lying 
between  Durango  and  the  Pacific  coast,  in  the  interval 
between  two  divisions  of  a  large  train  of  arrieros  separated 
from  each  other  by  a  distance  of  several  miles,  a  woman 
and  two  children,  boy  and  girl,  were  met.  Struck  by  the 
beauty  of  the  little  girl,  and  knowing  the  way  to  be  unsafe, 
some  conversation  took  place  in  which  the  mother  made 
light  of  those  dangers  suggested,  and  declined,  with  a  pro- 
fusion of  thanks,  an  offer  to  see  the  party  safe  to  her  sister's 
rancho  in  a  neighboring  valley.  They  had  only  a  little 
distance  to  go  along  the  ridge,  she  said,  and  would  then 
soon  descend  to  their  place  of  destination.  The  wolves 
were  like  devils,  it  was  true,  but  robbers  were  worse,  and 
she  had  many  times  crossed  there  from  her  home  without 
meeting  with  either.  In  short,  —  muchissimas  gracias 
Senor,  y  todos  los  santos,  etc.,  etc.  Adios  ! 

All  of  them  were  devoured  a  very  short  time  after. 
Their  clothes  and  bones  were  found  scattered  on  the  trail 
which  they  had  not  yet  left  before  they  were  killed.  The 
muleteers  in  rear  who  found  these  fragments  collected  and 
buried  them,  putting  up  the  usual  frail  cross  which  is  to  be 
seen  along  this  route,  literally  by  scores. 


338  Wild  Beasts 


This  term  lobo  is  indiscriminately  applied  in  Spanish 
America  to  creatures  that  bear  little  resemblance  to  one 
another.  The  guara  of  Brazil  is  known  under  that  name, 
an  inoffensive,  vegetable-eating  animal,  in  every  respect 
unlike  the  wolf  in  character  and  fiabits,  and,  according  to 
Dr.  Lund,  specifically  distinct  from  it  in  having  the  second 
and  third  vertebrae  of  its  neck  characteristically  elongated. 
Emmanuel  Liais,  however  ("  Climats,  Geologic,  Faune  du 
Bre"sil "),  states  the  chief  contrasts  between  those  creatures 
in  question  succintly,  as  follows:  " Au  point  de  vue  du 
regime  alimentaire,  les  deux  especes  du  genre  Canis  les  plus 
e'loigne'es  sont  le  loup  commun  a"  Europe,  animal  f/roce  et 
sanguinaire,  et  la  plus  carnivore  de  toutes  les  especes  du 
genre,  et  V Aguara  ou  Guara  du  Bre"sil — Canis  Jubatus 
de  Demarest,  appele*  a  Minas-G ernes  tres-improprement  Lobo 
(nom  portugais  du  Loup),  et  dtcrit  par  la  plupart  des  ouv- 
rages  de  mammologie  comme  le  loup  du  Bresil.  Cest  ce- 
pendent  le  moins  carnivore  de  tous  les  chiens  connus,  et  sa 
nourriture  pre'fe'ree  consiste  en  substances  ve'ge'tales" 

As  has  been  said,  the  wolf  does  not  reach  its  highest 
development  in  hot  countries.  Wolves  may  be  dangerous 
and  destructive  within  low  latitudes,  as  is  the  case  both  in 
America  and  Asia,  but  it  will  be  found  that  when  this 
occurs  their  range  is  generally  confined  to  elevated  regions 
in  those  provinces.  Major  H.  Bevan  ("Thirty  Years  in 
India")  states  that  " wolves  are  amongst  the  most  noxious 
tenants  of  the  jungles  around  Nagpore,  and  they  annually 
destroy  many  children ;  but  they  do  not  commit  such  rav- 
ages as  in  northern  India."  The  same  is  true  of  the  "  giant 
wolf,"  Lupus  Gigas,  that  Townsend  and  other  naturalists 


The  Wolf  339 


described  as  a  distinct  species ;  but  this  brute  which  has 
so  evil  a  reputation  in  the  highlands  of  Mexico,  "  the  red 
Texan  wolf,"  as  Audubon  calls  it,  does  not  extend  in  the 
United  States  to  the  northern  prairies ;  it  only  exists  as 
a  variety  of  the  common  species  in  the  lower  Mississippi 
valley,  and  farther  south. 

Audubon  remarks  that  this  form  of  the  common  species 
has  "the  same  sneaking,  cowardly,  yet  ferocious  dispo- 
sition "  as  other  wolves ;  nevertheless  those  anecdotes 
with  which  he  intersperses  his  descriptions  are  certainly 
not  calculated  to  foster  the  belief  that  his  impression 
agrees  with  facts. 

There  are  certain  traits  and  habits  belonging  to  wolves 
at  large  which  may  now  be  brought  together.  They  are 
not  by  any  means  strictly  nocturnal  animals,  but  very 
commonly  prowl  by  night,  and  in  places  where  large  packs 
assemble ;  most  of  what  has  with  truth  been  said  against 
them  occurred  under  cover  of  darkness.  By  all  accounts, 
it  is  amidst  gloom  and  storm,  while  the  buran  rages  over 
the  arctic  tundra,  that  troops  of  these  fierce  creatures  do 
their  worst  among  Yakut  and  Tungoo  reindeer  herds. 
Caribou  are  not  herded,  and  have  been  but  little  observed 
by  those  who  could  give  any  information  upon  such  a  point 
as  this.  Everywhere,  a  wolf  is  destructive,  fierce,  wary 
and  sagacious.  Moreover,  it  will  often  become  aggressive 
and  audacious  in  the  highest  degree,  when  circumstances 
contribute  to  foster  the  development  and  facilitate  the 
expression  of  its  natural  character.  It  is  the  typical  wild 
beast  of  its  family,  and  if  it  is  not  in  many  instances 
sanguinary  and  prone  to  take  the  offensive,  there  is  a 


340 


Wild  Beasts 


much  better  explanation  for  abstention  from  violence  than 
that  of  natural  cowardice.  Wolves  have  far  too  much 
sense  not  to  know  what  they  can  gain  with  least  exposure 
to  loss ;  and  no  beast  of  prey,  that  is  sane,  and  not  driven 
to  desperation,  ever  proceeds  upon  any  other  principle  than 
this.  Given  the  existence  of  mind,  those  accidents  by  which 
mind  is  modified,  and  relative  differences  in  degree  among 
its  qualities,  must  also  be  admitted.  Comparative  stupidity, 
evenness  of  temper,  want  of  enterprise,  tameness  and 
timidity,  undoubtedly  distinguish  wolf  and  wolf,  as  they 
do  all  carnivores.  Still  this  would  not  account  for  the 
conventional  wolf,  or  explain  the  anomaly  of  its  imaginary 
character,  or  show  why,  or  on  what  grounds,  it  is  main- 
tained that  there  should  exist  so  great  an  incongruity  in 
nature  as  an  animal  unadjusted  mentally  and  yet  adapted 
physically  to  a  predatory  life ;  that  has  at  the  same  time 
the  disposition  of  a  tiger  and  the  harmlessness  of  a  lamb, 
that  lives  by  violence,  yet  shrinks  from  every  struggle, 
that  maintains  itself  by  the  exercise  of  powers  it  must  be 
fully  conscious  of  possessing,  and  is  constantly  debarred 
from  the  results  which  it  might  attain  through  their  exer- 
cise by  causeless  apprehension.  This  is  very  nearly  what 
must  be  meant  when  a  beast  of  prey  is  called  a  coward. 

Wolves  stalk  their  prey,  ambush  it,  either  alone  or  in 
collusion  with  others  that  drive  the  game,  and  they  also 
run  it  down.  The  jaw  is  very  powerful  and  formidably 
armed,  and  in  proportion  to  its  bulk  this  creature  is 
exceedingly  strong.  A  wolf,  though  structurally  carniv- 
orous, will  eat  anything  —  fish,  flesh,  or  fowl,  fresh  or 
putrid,  animal  or  vegetal.  When  he  has  gorged  to  the 


The  Wolf  341 


limit  of  his  capacity,  if  anything  remains  it  is  commonly 
dragged  to  some  place  of  concealment  and  buried.  Then 
the  brute  lies  down  until  the  apathy  induced  by  surfeit 
passes  away.  Wolves  hunt  both  by  sight  and  scent,  by 
day  and  night.  They  will  certainly  interbreed  with  dogs, 
producing  fertile  offspring ;  and  they  may  be  domesti- 
cated. But  as  they  grow  older  the  characteristics  germane 
to  their  savage  natures  assert  themselves.  It  is  said  by 
Godman  that  "when  kept  in  close  confinement,  and  fed 
on  vegetable  matter,  the  common  wolf  becomes  tame  and 
harmless,  .  .  .  shy,  restless,  timid."  If  he  had  said  it 
became  ill,  the  statement  would  have  been  more  conform- 
able with  fact.  No  such  interruption  of  the  normal  course 
of  life  is  possible  without  an  impairment  of  health,  both 
bodily  and  mental.  Carnivorous  animals  are  not  to  be 
turned  into  vegetarians  at  will,  nor  any  creature's  energies 
thwarted  and  cramped  without  distortion  and  atrophy. 

Wolves  no  doubt  can  swim,  but  it  is  certain  that  a  wolf 
seldom  voluntarily  takes  to  water  in  which  he  cannot 
wade.  Audubon  saw  one  swimming,  and  others  have 
witnessed  the  like.  Still  all  accounts  represent  these 
beasts  as  stopping  short  in  pursuit  on  the  bank  of  a 
stream.  Naturalists  say  that  the  length  of  life  in  this 
species  is  twenty  years,  and  it  has  been  recorded  also 
that  they  do  not  become  gray  with  age.  It  looks  like 
a  purility  to  repeat  what  has  been  gravely  reported  more 
than  once ;  namely,  that  when  wolves  have  plenty  to  eat 
they  get  fat,  become  lazy,  and  are  not  so  aggressive  as 
under  contrary  conditions.  On  the  other  hand,  nothing 
is  more  common  than  to  find  writers  explaining  every  act 


342  Wild  Beasts 


of  audacity  as  due  to  hunger.  Most  probably  it  is ;  they 
would  hardly  go  hunting  while  in  a  state  of  repletion.  But 
the  question  is,  how  these  authorities  find  out  the  exact 
state  of  their  dietaries,  and  can  be  certain  that  they  must 
be  starving  before  they  will  attack  the  wild  Asiatic  ox 
or  American  moose;  also  how  much- less  food  is  required, 
to  urge  them  on  to  assail  a  party  of  men. 

In  seasons  of  scarcity  wolves  of  the  northern  plains 
prey  upon  prairie-dogs,  ground-squirrels,  hares,  foxes, 
badgers,  etc. ;  small  creatures  that  offer  no  resistance, 
and  which  it  is  only  difficult  to  catch.  At  the  same  time 
they  hunt  the  large  game  of  North  America,  and  although, 
much  to  the  disgust  of  a  certain  class  of  writers,  the 
common  wolf,  which  weighs  about  a  hundred  pounds,  does 
not  select  a  buffalo  bull  in  the  best  fighting  trim  as  an 
object  for  attack  when  a  less  formidable  animal  of  this 
species  can  be  found,  or  meet  the  moose,  that  often 
stands  six  feet  at  the  withers,  or  indeed  any  creature 
that  can  kill  him,  in  such  a  way  as  to  give  it  the  best 
opportunity  for  doing  so,  he  often  has  to  fight  and  fre- 
quently comes  to  grief.  But  they  "give  every  human 
being  a  wide  berth,"  says  Roosevelt,  and  it  would  be 
strange  indeed  if  they  did  not,  since  none  are  apt  to  be 
encountered  who,  according  to  the  wolfs  experience,  are 
unprepared  for  offensive  action,  or  who  do  not  make 
it  their  business  in  those  parts  to  destroy  him.  This 
fact  has  been  completely  realized  by  wolves  of  the  plains, 
and  it  is  for  this  reason  that  in  these  latitudes  they  have 
now  become,  what  Colonel  Dodge  asserts  that  they  are, 
"of  all  carnivorous  animals  of  equal  size  and  strength, 


The  Wolf  343 


the  most  harmless  to  beasts,  and  the  least  dangerous  to 
man." 

A  wolfs  structure  is  not  by  any  means  so  well  adapted 
to  destructive  purposes  as  that  of  the  larger  Felidce.  No 
species  of  the  genus  Canis  has  either  the  teeth,  claws  or 
muscles  which  belong  to  cats.  A  predatory  animal  may, 
and  often  does,  make  an  error  in  judgment,  but  there  is 
one  thing  that  it  never  does,  and  that  is,  to  attack  deliber- 
ately knowing  beforehand  that  it  must  fight  fairly  for 
victory,  and  that  the  issue  is  quite  as  likely  to  be  fatal 
to  itself  as  to  its  destined  prey.  A  single  wolf  is  not  a 
match  for  those  large  animals  it  destroys ;  and  when,  in 
virtue  of  what  Professor  Romanes  calls  the  "collective 
instinct,"  odds  have  been  taken  against  them,  they  suc- 
cumb before  a  combined  assault. 

Where  parties  of  "  wolfers,"  as  they  are  called,  pass  the 
winter  in  placing  poisoned  meat  in  their  way,  and  in  local- 
ities in  which  they  abound,  destroy  them  for  their  skins 
by  hundreds,  wolves  would  need  to  be  much  less  sagacious 
than  they  are,  if  what  was  noticed  by  Lord  Milton  and  his 
companion  was  not  true  as  a  matter  of  course.  "  These 
animals,"  the  account  says,  "are  so  wary  and  suspicious 
that  they  will  not  touch  a  bait  lying  exposed,  or  one  that 
has  been  recently  visited."  John  Mortimer  Murphy 
("  Sporting  Adventures  in  the  Far  West  ")  had  seven 
years'  experience  of  the  way  in  which  wolves  were  shot, 
trapped,  poisoned  and  coursed.  The  conclusion  he  came 
to  from  those  observations  which  he  relates  so  well,  was 
that  the  wolf  in  such  localities,  "  large,  gaunt,  and  fierce  as 
it  looks,  is  one  of  the  greatest  cowards  known."  He 


344  Wild  Beasts 


omitted  to  mention  —  but  Godman  has  rectified  the  over- 
sight—  that  wolves  carry  their  natural  cowardice  to  such 
an  extent,  and  are  so  exceedingly  dubious  concerning  what 
man  may  do,  that  a  few  pinches  of  powder  scattered  about 
dead  game,  or  an  article  of  clothing  left  near  it,  —  in  short, 
any  evidence  of  the  presence  of  a  human  being  will  pre- 
vent them  from  approaching  it. 

There  are  several  ways  of  writing  natural  history,  and 
this  is  one  of  them.  It  would  seem,  nevertheless,  that  if 
a  plan  could  be  adopted  for  looking  upon  the  general  or- 
ganization of  wild  beasts  as  in  a  great  measure  determining 
their  characters,  and  for  considering,  if  possible,  anomalous 
traits  as  most  probably  intimately  connected  with  peculiar- 
ities in  their  situation,  we  might  no  longer  feel  confounded 
at  finding  that  sentient  creatures  are  not  the  same  under 
dissimilar  circumstances.  If  brutes  could  be  considered 
to  have  some  knowledge  of  themselves,  to  act  like  brutes 
and  to  feel  like  them,  without  reference  to  any  human 
opinions  whatever,  forthcoming  literature  of  this  kind 
would  be  benefited. 

In  those  parts  of  the  world  where  the  wolf  comes  in 
contact  with  people  not  well  prepared  to  receive  him,  his 
attitude  towards  mankind  is  aggressive.  In  Eastern 
Europe,  for  example,  Austria,  Hungary,  Bohemia,  and 
through  the  Danubian  states  generally,  wolves  occupy 
quite  a  distinguished  position  for  dangerousness,  and  the 
inhabitants  regard  them  with  any  other  feeling  than  that 
of  contempt.  Captain  Spencer  ("Turkey,  Russia,  the 
Black  Sea,  and  Circassia "),  while  passing  through  that 
vast  forest  which  separates  the  more  settled  tracts  of 


The  Wolf  345 


Moldavia  from  the  Buckowina,  was  besieged  in  a  half- 
ruined  chalet  with  his  companions,  and  the  pack  continued 
their  attack  all  night,  and  lost  heavily. 

The  coyote, —  Canis  latrans, —  that  thieving  creature 
which  is  often  found  intermingled  with  the  gray  and  other 
coated  wolves  on  the  great  plains  of  North  America,  has 
been  by  some  writers  —  Colonel  Dodge,  for  example  — 
discriminated  from  the  prairie  wolf  as  a  separate  species. 
Those  differences  which  exist  between  them,  however, 
have  little  classificatory  value.  Contrasts  in  size,  dissimi- 
larities in  color,  marking,  and  the  growth  of  hair,  are  all 
seen  in  the  common  wolf,  of  which  this  is  "  a  distinct  but 
allied  species,"  with  northern  and  southern  varieties. 

"There  is,"  says  Schoolcraft,  " something  doleful  as 
well  as  terrific  in  the  howling  of  wolves."  When  people 
speak  of  the  jackal's  howl,  they  commonly  call  it  "  un- 
earthly," but  a  coyote's  voice  is  much  more  singularly 
diabolical,  and  his  intonations  are  so  hideously  suggestive 
of  all  that  is  wierd  and  devilish,  that  it  stands  by  itself 
among  natural  sounds,  and  cannot  be  compared  with  the 
outcry  of  any  other  creature.  Murphy  describes  it  as 
follows:  "The  voice  seems  to  be  a  combination  of  the 
long  howl  of  the  wolf  and  the  yelp  of  the  fox  ;  but  so  dis- 
tinctly marked  is  it  from  either,  that,  once  heard,  it  is 
never  forgotten.  The  coyote  has  the  strange  peculiarity 
of  making  the  utterance  of  one  sound  like  that  of  many ; 
and  should  two  or  three  try  their  larynxes  at  the  same  time, 
persons  would  fancy  that  a  large  pack  was  giving  tongue 
in  chorus.  The  cry  appears  to  be  divided  into  two  parts. 
It  first  begins  with  a  deep,  long  howl,  then  runs  rapidly 


346  Wild  Beasts 


up  into  a  series  of  barks,  and  terminates  in  a  high  scream, 
issued  in  prolonged  jerks."  According  to  conventional 
opinions,  elephants  among  wild  animals,  and  dogs  among 
those  that  have  been  domesticated,  occupy  the  highest 
places  in  order  of  intelligence.  The  author  does  not  be- 
lieve this  to  be  the  case  with  respect  to  the  first  named 
species,  and  so  far  as  pure  intellect  goes  "Die  reinen  Ver- 
nunft,"  no  dog  can  probably  surpass  Cants  latrans.  Pro- 
fessor Huxley  also  reports  that  he  can  find  no  essential 
difference  between  their  skulls.  While  these  animals 
may  be  equal,  however,  in  absolute  capacity,  the  coyote, 
considered  according  to  civilized  standards  of  manners,  is 
the  kind  of  creature  that  if  any  dog  were  to  take  after, 
he  would  be  incontinently  shot  or  hanged. 

His  idea  of  good  conduct  is  to  get  what  he  can  honestly 
procure  when  driven  to  straightforward  courses,  but  by 
preference  to  steal  it,  as  being  less  troublesome.  He  is 
astute  beyond  comparison  in  nefarious  practices,  and  has 
sense  enough  to  howl  with  derision  (as  he  sometimes 
seems  to  do)  if  it  could  be  explained  to  him  that  man- 
kind were  capable  of  judging  his  behavior  according  to 
any  other  rule  of  life  than  his  own.  Homo  sapiens,  in 
a  highly  evolved  state,  is  imbued  with  the  truly  noble 
idea  that  he  is  the  centre  of  creation,  and  that  all  liv- 
ing things  are  admirable  in  proportion  as  they  approach 
himself.  He  calls  the  coyote  a  "miserable  cur,"  "a 
barking  thief,"  and  says  sarcastically  that  the  brute 
has  kleptomania.  Savage  man,  on  the  contrary,  esteems 
him  greatly.  The  two  are  much  alike  in  many  respects. 
We  have  already  seen  that  this  little  wolf  has  been 


The  Wolf  347 


adopted  as  the  tutelar  of  gcntes  among  Pueblo  Indians, 
and  southern  tribes  of  the  Tinneh  stock,  and  its  promi- 
nence is  scarcely  less  with  those  of  the  northwest  coast  of 
America.  They  honor  the  coyote ;  their  myths  and  folk- 
lore record  its  good  qualities  and  wisdom.  To  them  it  is 
the  incarnation  of  a  deity  or  a  demon  (these  are  nearly  the 
same),  and  it  is  never  killed,  for  fear  that  ill  luck  might 
be  sent  by  the  spirit  of  which  this  animal  is  the  represen- 
tative. 

Under  these  happy  auspices  coyotes  hang  around  native 
encampments  and  villages,  interbreed  with  Indian  dogs, 
grow  fat  on  salmon  cast  upon  river  banks  in  the  spawning 
season,  hunt  all  that  smaller  game  which  their  more 
powerful  relations  resort  to  for  supplies  only  when  hard 
pressed,  and  omit  to  take  advantage  of  no  opportunity  to 
gain  possession  of  provisions  which  are  not  theirs.  The 
opinion  they  have  of  the  human  race  is  that  it  exists  for 
their  advantage,  and  mankind,  further  than  it  contributes 
to  their  support,  is  an  object  of  indifference  to  them. 

More  to  the  south,  and  in  the  vicinity  of  white  settlers, 
the  coyote  is  oppressed  and  persecuted  ;  subjected  to  like 
usage  with  that  which  the  common  wolf  receives.  This 
state  of  things  is  of  course  accompanied  by  changes  in 
character  that  are  not  less  marked  than  in  the  wolf's  case. 
It  becomes  nocturnal  in  habit,  flies  from  the  face  of  man, 
and  is  one  of  the  most  wary,  timid,  and  suspicious  of  ani- 
mals. At  the  same  time  its  cunning  grows  greater  as  the 
necessity  for  self-preservation  becomes  more  pressing,  and 
in  the  same  measure  in  which  it  is  pursued  does  its  ca- 
pacity for  evasion  enlarge.  Speed,  endurance,  wind,  and 


348  Wild  Beasts 


invention,  all  develop  themselves.  Unlike  wolves,  whose 
homes  and  breeding-places  are  commonly  in  caves  or 
clefts  of  rock,  beneath  trees  or  within  any  natural  recess, 
coyotes  dig  burrows  in  the  open,  and  are  seldom  or  never 
inmates  of  forests. 

As  the  species  approaches  its  southern  limit,  the  average 
size  decreases  and  its  color  changes.  In  Mexico,  where 
they  are  seldom  molested,  these  brutes  prowl  a  good  deal 
during  the  day  ;  they  pack  likewise  more  commonly  than 
further  north,  and  if  smaller,  are  also  bolder  and  less  upon 
their  guard. 

In  Algeria  or  Oran  an  Arab  knew  when  the  lion  was 
coming  by  the  jackal's  cry ;  Brazilian  Indians  tell  one  that 
they  can  trace  a  jaguar's  way  at  night  through  the  barking 
of  foxes,  and  it  is  said  by  shikaris  in  India  that  a  prowl- 
ing tiger's  path  may  be  known  by  a  peculiar  howl  which 
his  frequent  attendant  —  the  kind  of  jackal  called  Kole 
baloo — utters  on  such  occasions.  The  coyote  also  gives 
warning  of  the  approach  of  foes  that  are  oftentimes  more 
dangerous  than  either  lions  or  tigers.  But  it  is  by  its 
silence  that  danger  is  announced.  In  a  position  where 
hostile  Indians  were  to  be  expected  at  any  time,  when  the 
coyote  ceased  its  cries,  it  was  an  ominous  thing,  and  front- 
iersmen looked  out  for  the  appearance  of  a  war  party. 
Everybody  who  has  been  much  on  the  border  is  probably 
acquainted  with  this  very  general  belief,  and  it  may  per- 
haps be  founded  in  fact ;  but  this  much  is  certain,  that 
these  creatures  do  not  always  become  quiet  when  Indians 
are  about,  for  the  author  has  more  then  once  heard  them 
howl — coyotes,  not  savages  who  were  imitating  them  — 


The  Wolf  349 


when  it  was  known  for  certain  that  Indians  were  near, 
and  when  the  fact  of  their  presence  was  soon  proved. 

Coursing  coyotes  is  a  favorite  sport  with  many  persons 
in  the  West,  and  while  the  weather  is  cool  and  dry  they 
often  make  good  runs  ;  otherwise,  the  game  soon  succumbs 
to  heat,  or  to  a  serious  impediment  in  the  way  of  escape  — 
its  own  tail.  This  is  carried  low,  and  despite  his  long  hind 
legs  and  powerful  quarters,  the  brush  gathers  so  much  mud 
in  deep  ground  as  seriously  to  embarrass  flight. 

In  those  localities  where  this  race  exhibits  indications 
of  much  timidity,  it  will  be  found  that  every  destructive 
device  of  man's  ingenuity  is  practised  against  it ;  even  to 
taking  advantage  of  a  harmless  weakness  for  assafoetida  in 
the  matter  of  preparing  poisoned  baits.  All  this  makes 
certain  associations  of  ideas  inevitable,  and  special  impres- 
sions upon  his  mind  things  of  course.  At  the  same  time, 
no  mortal  knows  precisely  what  these  are. 

Where  no  such  experiences  of  human  malice  and  dupli- 
city color  the  coyote's  character,  its  conduct  is  quite 
different.  Under  those  circumstances  it  does  not  fly  from 
imaginary  perils.  Even  when  fired  at  it  shows  no  unseemly 
haste  to  leave  ;  but  if  the  shot  be  repeated,  then  the  hint 
is  always  taken,  and  it  vanishes.  Most  persons  who  have 
become  personally  acquainted  with  them  must  have  had 
occasion  to  observe  that  where  they  have  been  subjected 
to  the  worst  that  man  can  do,  their  dexterity  in  the  way 
of  robbery  is  not  more  striking  than  the  audacity  by  which 
it  is  accompanied.  It  seems  difficult  to  reconcile  the  idea 
of  any  instinctive  fear  of  man  with  the  conduct  of  an 
animal  that  will  steal  through  a  line  of  sentinels  into  a 


350  Wild  Beasts 


military  encampment,  and  carry  off  food  from  beside  watch- 
fires.  They  do  this  ;  they  do  everything  that  requires 
enterprise,  judgment,  and  skill,  and  this  to  an  extent  that, 
in  the  mind  of  an  unprejudiced  savage,  has  gained  them  a 
place  among  his  gods. 

Once  the  writer  saw  as  much  of  the  temper  of  coyotes 
in  their  natural  state  towards  man  as  it  is  possible  for 
anybody  to  see  at  one  time.  It  befell  that  he  was  badly 
hurt  in  front  of  General  Treveno's  cavalry  brigade,  then 
holding  the  line  of  the  Rio  Cana  Dulce.  When  conscious- 
ness returned,  horse  and  arms  were  gone,  and  the  bushes 
around  swarmed  with  these  wolves.  There  may  not,  how- 
ever, have  been  so  many  as  there  appeared  to  be,  for  the 
animals  moved  in  and  out  of  cover  constantly,  and  the 
same  one  was  probably  seen  several  times.  The  thirst  that 
always  follows  hemorrhage,  and  the  heat  of  the  sun,  were 
distressing,  neither  was  it  pleasant  to  be  an  object  of  so 
much  attention  to  a  troop  like  this,  while  almost  completely 
disabled.  An  overhanging  bank  lay  near,  and  was  reached 
with  great  difficulty.  Here  one  could  lean  up  against  the 
side  and  contemplate  them  from  a  shady  place.  They 
behaved  very  curiously,  and  if  the  attendant  circumstances 
had  been  at  all  conducive  to  mirth,  their  spiteful  antics, 
the  pretences  of  attack  they  made,  and  the  absurd  way  in 
which  some  of  them  assumed  an  air  of  boldness,  and 
apparently  sought  to  inspire  their  companions  with  reso- 
lution, would  no  doubt  have  been  amusing.  It  was  abun- 
dantly shown  that  these  creatures  looked  upon  the  inert  and 
blood-soaked  individual  before  them  as  a  prey,  and  were 
consequently  in  a  high  state  of  excitement.  Their  eyes 


The   Wolf  351 


sparkled  and  the  long  hair  around  their  necks  bristled ; 
they  made  short  runs  at  and  around  the  position,  they 
pushed  each  other,  and  howled  in  every  cadence  of  their 
infernal  voices  ;  also  some  individuals  showed  the  rest  how 
the  thing  ought  to  be  done.  A  rush  would  have  been  at 
once  fatal,  but  it  was  not  made.  Nevertheless,  they  grew 
bolder,  and  when  relief  arrived,  had  for  the  most  part 
gathered  around  in  the  open.  What  would  have  happened 
when  night  came,  or  whether  anything,  the  writer  does  not 
pretend  to  say. 


THE   GRIZZLY   BEAR 

BEARS  are  included  by  zoologists  in  that  order  whose 
typical  forms  are,  besides  themselves,  the  dog,  cat, 
and  seal,  and  they  belong  to  the  higher  of  those  sub- 
orders into  which  this  group  of  carnivora  has  been  divided. 
UrsidcB  hold  a  middle  place  among  bear-like  beasts,  and 
although  their  generic  history  is  not  so  complete  as  that 
of  others,  Dr.  Lund's  discoveries  in  Brazilian  bone-caves 
brought  to  light  a  fossil  form  that  Wallace  regards  as 
representative  of  an  existing  American  species.  Their 
palaeontological  record  carries  them  far  back  among  the 
fauna  of  earlier  geological  periods,  and  connects  the  sub- 
ordinal  section  which  contains  existing  arctoids  with  insect- 
eating  and  pouched  vertebrates  on  one  side,  and  on  the 
other,  with  the  precursors  of  monkeys,  apes,  and  men. 

In  their  most  general  structural  traits  bears  possess  the 
characteristic  features  of  all  carnivores — their  abbreviated 
digestive  tract,  developed  muscular  systems  and  sense 
organs,  and  highly  specialized  teeth.  At  the  same  time 
this  genus  is  considerably  modified,  and  on  that  account 
bears  were  placed  among  Fissipedia,  which  are  practically 
omnivorous.  Finally,  Ursidce  are  plantigrades  with  mus- 
cles fused  in  plates,  and  so  exhibit  the  ungainliness,  the 
awkward  and  comparatively  slow  and  restricted  movements 
peculiar  to  the  genus. 

352 


The  Grizzly  Bear  353 

Geographically  they  are  nearly  cosmopolitan.  Their 
species,  although  not  numerous,  inhabit  arctic  and  tropical 
regions,  and  live  in  the  lowlands  of  Europe,  Asia,  and 
America,  as  well  as  among  the  mountains  of  both  conti- 
nents. 

The  grizzly  bear  is  confined  to  the  New  World,  and  there 
is  distributed  from  about  68°  north  to  the  southern  border 
of  the  United  States,  chiefly  in  the  main  chain  of  the 
Rocky  Mountains  and  on  their  eastern  and  western  slopes, 
but  also  among  the  ranges  between  these  and  the  Pacific. 
It  has  been  called  by  many  names.  Lewis  and  Clark,  who 
may  be  said  to  have  discovered  this  animal,  speak  of  it 
indifferently  as  the  white  and  brown  bear.  Cuvier  said 
he  was  not  satisfied  that  any  specific  distinction  existed 
between  the  latter  and  our  grizzly,  which  has  also  been 
identified  with  Sir  John  Richardson's  "barren-ground" 
species  of  the  Atlantic  area.  Audubon  supposes  Ursus 
horribilis  to  have  formerly  inhabited  this  province,  but  the 
only  basis  for  such  an  opinion  is  found  in  his  interpretation 
of  some  Algonkin  traditions.  The  present  title — horrible, 
frightful,  or  terrible  bear  —  is  a  translation  into  Latin  of 
George  Ord's  name  grisly,  given  in  1815.  As  it  is  com- 
monly written,  however,  its  significance  is  lost,  the  refer- 
ence being  to  color  instead  of  character.  Dr.  Elliott 
Coues  and  others  have  remarked  upon  this  discrepancy, 
but  it  is  now  too  late  to  make  a  change.  The  naturalist 
Say  ("Long's  Expedition  to  the  Rocky  Mountains")  first 
described  this  species,  although  its  physical  features  are 
well  given  by  Captains  Lewis  and  Clark,  and  it  was  men- 
tioned before  their  time.  Since  then  the  animal's  dimen- 

AA 


354  Wild  Beasts 


sions  have  been  often  and  also  differently  determined. 
Lockwood  ("  Riverside  Natural  History ")  very  properly 
gives  no  ultimate  decision.  Lord  Dunraven  ("  The  Great 
Divide")  speaks  of  having  shot  "a  middling-sized  beast 
weighing  about  eight  hundred  pounds."  Richard  Harlan 
("  Fauna  Americana  ")  says  that  the  animal's  "  total  length 
is  8  feet  7  inches  and  6  lines ;  its  greatest  circumference 
5  feet  10  inches ;  the  circumference  of  its  neck  3  feet  1 1 
inches,  and  the  length  of  its  claws  4  inches  5  lines." 
Captain  Lewis  measured  tracks  "  eleven  inches  long  and 
seven  and  a  half  wide,  exclusive  of  the  claws,"  which  are 
reported  by  different  observers  to  be  of  all  lengths  between 
four  and  seven  inches ;  and  the  truth  is  that  no  one  has 
been  in  a  position  to  pronounce  definitely  on  a  single  point 
respecting  this  animal's  weight  and  size.  It  is  the  largest 
and  most  powerful  beast  of  prey  in  the  world.  So  much 
may  be  said  confidently,  but  beyond  that  data  for  positive 
statements  are  not  extant. 

With  regard  to  the  grizzly  bear's  habits,  they  are  variable, 
like  the  color  of  his  coat,  which  may  at  one  time  and  place 
justify  the  name  he  bears,  and  at  another  be  almost  black. 
Ursus  horribilis  preys  upon  all  the  large  game  of  North 
America  ;  he  is,  as  H.  W.  Elliott  ("  Our  Arctic  Province  ") 
observes,  "  a  most  expert  fisherman,"  and  appears  to  be 
equally  partial  to  wild  fruits  and  carrion.  These  brutes 
consume  large  quantities  of  mast,  they  dig  up  the  pomme 
blanche  and  other  tubers  and  roots,  and  it  is  said  that  their 
relatives  of  the  black  species  are  sometimes  devoured. 
Nothing  edible  comes  amiss  to  a  grizzly,  from  the  larvae  of 
insects  to  spoiled  salmon,  or  from  buffalo-berries  to  the 


The  Grizzly  Bear  355 

animal  itself.  But  it  must  be  admitted  that  accurate  infor- 
mation is  wanting  upon  many  particulars  connected  with 
his  way  of  life.  Hibernation,  for  example,  which  is  a  trait 
varying  greatly  in  its  completeness  among  species  of  differ- 
ent genera,  appears  to  be  absent  in  this  case.  These 
animals  go  about  both  by  day  and  night,  in  cold  weather  as 
much  as  in  warm.  There  are  perfectly  reliable  accounts 
of  their  having  been  encountered  at  all  seasons,  and  in 
situations  which  were  peculiarly  favorable  for  going  into 
winter  quarters  if  the  animal  had  desired  to  do  so. 

Again,  the  grizzly's  exploits  as  a  hunter  are  involved  in 
much  obscurity.  It  does  not  require  great  skill  for  him  to 
catch  buffalo,  or  supply  himself  with  beef  on  a  cattle 
range.  The  Bovidce  in  general  are  not  particularly  intel- 
ligent, and  no  doubt  an  ambuscade  which  might  be  suc- 
cessful with  them  is  managed  without  much  difficulty. 
With  deer,  however,  it  is  not  the  same.  Caribou  and  elk, 
the  black  and  white  tailed  Cervidce,  are  not  to  be  had 
by  any  man  without  a  previous  acquisition  of  consider- 
able knowledge,  without  the  power  to  put  this  in  practice 
according  to  varying  circumstances,  and  without  great 
practical  dexterity  in  several  directions.  Bears  are  not 
exempt  from  the  requirements  pointed  out.  All  that  is 
true  of  instinct  restricts  itself  in  every  instance  of  effi- 
ciency to  the  fact  that  transmitted  faculty  makes  acquisi- 
tion rapid  and  promotes  the  passage  of  deliberate  into 
automatic  action.  Apart  from  the  advantages  he  possesses 
in  this  way,  a  grizzly  bear  needs  to  learn  in  the  same  way 
as  a  man.  There  are  occasions  constantly  occurring  in 
which  mind  must  be  exercised  in  a  manner  such  as  expe- 


356  Wild  Beasts 


rience  has  not  prepared  him  to  meet,  and  where  the  animal 
acts  well  or  ill,  successfully  or  unsuccessfully,  according  to 
his  individual  capacity. 

John  D.  Godman(" American  Natural  History")  calls 
it  "savage  and  solitary."  All  the  more  powerful  beasts  of 
prey  might  be  similarly  characterized.  The  influence  of 
organization,  inherited  tendencies,  and  their  daily  life,  in- 
dispose creatures  of  this  kind  towards  association.  More- 
over, they  are  most  generally  rivals  in  their  usual  habitats, 
both  as  hunters  and  as  suitors  during  the  pairing  season. 
We  have  no  accounts,  like  those  given  of  lions  and  tigers, 
to  show  how  males  behave  toward  each  other  under  the 
antagonisms  implied  in  contact,  but  everything  points 
towards  conflict.  Still,  as  there  are  conditions  which 
bring  the  former  together  in  certain  localities,  so  grizzlies 
sometimes  congregate.  Mollhausen  ("  Diary  of  a  Journey 
from  the  Mississippi  to  the  Pacific  ")  reports  that  at  Mount 
Sitgreaves,  and  in  its  surrounding  eminences,  their  dens 
were  so  numerous  that  Leroux  (a  famous  guide  and  hunter 
of  those  days)  had  never  seen  the  same  "  numbers  living 
together  in  so  small  a  space."  They  had  all  gone  when 
Mollhausen's  party  was  there,  owing  to  the  freezing  of 
waters  in  that  vicinity.  Those  places  where  they  had 
tried  to  break  the  ice  were  often  found,  and  many  trails 
well  marked  in  snow  showed  that  the  bears  had  "made 
their  journey  to  the  south  in  troops  of  eight  or  more," 
each  detachment  going  in  single  file. 

Nevertheless,  "Old  Ephraim,"  as  mountain  men  call 
him,  having  inspired  all  who  ever  penetrated  into  his 
haunts  with  a  wholesome,  respect,  has  naturally  been 


The  Grizzly  Bear  357 

exposed  to  misconstructions.  His  character  is  frequently 
represented  as  more  fierce  and  morose  than  it  really  is. 
Writers  say  of  him  that  he  will  not  tolerate  the  presence 
of  a  black  bear,  or  the  variety  of  this  species,  according 
to  Baird,  the  "cinnamon,"  in  his  neighborhood.  They  tell 
how  their  boundaries  are  sharply  defined,  and  remark  that 
occasionally  small  numbers  of  these  less  formidable  mem- 
bers of  the  family  live  as  enclaves  within  the  grizzlies' 
territories,  but  are  rigorously  confined  to  their  own  limits. 

This  is  one  of  those  wholesale  statements  with  which 
descriptive  zoology  is  full.  No  doubt  there  are  plenty  of 
grizzly  bears  that  would  kill  any  poaching  relative  of 
theirs  unlucky  enough  to  encounter  them.  As  a  general 
fact  in  natural  history,  however,  the  theory  of  the  separate- 
ness  of  distribution  among  American  Ursidce  will  not  stand. 
Many  direct  observations  show  it  to  be  otherwise,  and 
Schwatka  (" Along  Alaska's  Great  River")  is  fully  sup- 
ported in  saying  that  he  doubts  the  truth  of  this  state- 
ment from  his  own  experience.  On  Cone  Hill  River  he 
saw  "  four  or  five  black  and  brown  bears  in  an  open  or  un- 
timbered  space  of  about  an  acre  or  two." 

There  are  spots  in  India  appropriately  called  "tigerish." 
Any  one  who  knows  the  beast's  ways  would  naturally  look 
for  it  in  these  sites.  But  it  is  very  doubtful  if  the  physical 
features  of  localities  have  much  to  do  with  selection 
by  this  species,  apart  from  the  fact  that  when  he  feels 
himself  to  be  in  danger,  a  grizzly  gets  into  the  most  inac- 
cessible position  possible.  He  loves  cover  under  all  cir- 
cumstances, although  it  is  not  uncommon  in  secluded 
situations  to  find  these  animals  far  out  in  open  country ; 


358  Wild  Beasts 


but  timber  and  brush  seem  to  be  more  or  less  accidental 
accessories  so  far  as  his  preference  is  concerned.  The 
animal  needs  a  constant  supply  of  water,  and  if  this  can 
be  had,  broken  and  intricate  ravine  systems  suit  it  as  well 
as  thickets  or  forest  land.  Its  partiality  for  swamps  de- 
pends upon  their  productions,  and  the  fact  that  game 
is  apt  to  be  found  in  them.  Independently  of  special 
considerations  of  any  kind,  the  propensity  to  conceal 
itself  is  a  natural  and  necessary  outgrowth  of  the  habits 
and  character  of  all  predatory  creatures.  They  do  so  uni- 
versally, and  a  grizzly,  like  the  rest,  much  prefers  a  wind- 
row, precipitous  arroyo,  or  brake,  to  any  plain  whatever 
which  is  not  overgrown  in  some  way. 

Grizzly  bears  do  not  climb  trees.  They  are  said  to 
shake  them  in  order  to  procure  fruit,  and  also  for  the  pur- 
pose of  dislodging  men  who  have  taken  refuge  among  their 
branches ;  in  general,  however,  the  animal  sits  up  and 
claws  down  the  boughs  within  reach. 

Probably  that  conventional  expression,  the  "  bear  hug/' 
has  no  significance  anywhere.  Some  bears  hug  tree  stems 
in  ascending  trunks  adapted  to  their  embrace,  but  Asiatic 
species  of  all  kinds  simply  sink  their  claws  into  the  bark 
of  boles  they  would  be  utterly  unable  to  gain  any  hold 
upon  otherwise,  and  climb  like  cats.  This  arctoid  is  too 
heavy  for  that ;  he  is  over-sized,  in  fact,  like  the  greater 
Felidcz,  for  any  arboreal  gymnastics.  The  writer  can  find 
no  reliable  evidence  to  show  that  this  or  any  other  bear 
attempts  to  inflict  injury  by  straining  the  body  of  an 
enemy  within  its  arms.  A  grizzly  will  grasp  and  hold  a 
man  or  beast  while  biting,  or  striking  with  the  claws  of 


The  Grizzly  Bear  359 

its  hind  feet,  and  blows  from  its  forearm  are  delivered  as 
frequently  and  not  less  effectually  than  is  customary  with 
the  lion,  but  beyond  teeth,  talons,  and  concussion,  no 
authentic  mention  is  made  of  modes  by  which  its  victims 
are  put  to  death. 

All  young  vertebrates  are  playful  in  youth,  and  if  taken 
early  enough,  some  would  be  found  even  in  species  com- 
monly regarded  as  untamable,  that  for  a  time  at  least 
might  be  domesticated.  Among  Ursidce  untrustworthiness 
is  the  rule.  They  are  quite  intelligent,  capable  of  being 
taught,  and  competent  to  understand  the  necessity  for 
being  peaceable.  Yet  if  one  judges  from  reports  they  are 
more  unreliable  than  the  cats.  Relatively  these  animals 
are  not  so  highly  endowed,  and  this  fact,  coupled  with  in- 
herent ferocity,  and  an  organization  by  which  passion  is 
made  explosive,  accounts  for  the  character  they  bear. 
Cubs  of  Ursus  horribilis  grow  savage  very  soon.  Lock- 
wood  and  others  regard  the  species  as  incapable  of  being 
completely  tamed.  As  far  as  that  goes,  however,  the  same 
is  true  of  every  wild  beast  able  to  do  harm.  These  animals 
are  kept  under  the  same  conditions  as  other  show  creatures, 
and  seem  to  be  in  much  the  same  state.  It  is  neverthe- 
less probable  that  either  from  a  greater  degree  of  insensi- 
bility or  less  mental  capacity,  they  always  remain  more 
dangerous  than  most  ferce.  This  brute  has  nothing  of  the 
phlegm  about  him  that  his  appearance  suggests.  He  is 
morose,  surly,  and  rough  at  all  times,  and  even  more  liable 
to  sudden  and  violent  fits  of  rage  than  a  tiger. 

Either,  as  seems  likely  from  what  we  know  of  the  ani- 
mals in  question,  on  account  of  the  fact  that  those  who 


360  Wild  Beasts 


have  had  an  opportunity  to  observe  them  were  exclusively 
occupied  with  describing  their  destructiveness,  or  because 
grizzlies  have  few  of  those  traits  that  make  many  species 
interesting,  their  records  are  very  barren  indeed.  A  soli- 
tary being  like  this  could  not  possess  the  engaging  quali- 
ties Espinas  ("  Societe"s  Animales  ")  and  Beccari  describe 
among  those  that  live  in  association ;  but  other  creatures 
are  so  placed  without  losing  all  attractiveness.  It  does 
not  take  long  to  tell  the  little  that  is  certain  about  a  griz- 
zly's ways  when  left  to  himself.  Besides  what  has  been 
already  said,  we  know  that  they  appropriate  game  not 
killed  by  themselves,  and  will  steal  meat  wherever  it  is 
found.  Audubon  saw  one  swimming  in  the  Upper  Mis- 
souri after  the  carcass  of  a  drowned  buffalo,  Roosevelt 
had  his  elk  eaten,  and  four  of  them  visited  Lord  Dun- 
raven's  oamp,  carrying  off  all  the  food  they  could  find. 
He  says  "they  scarcely  ate  any  of  the  flesh,  but  took  the 
greatest  pains  to  prevent  any  other  creatures  getting  at 
it."  This  is  not  always  the  case,  however.  That  they 
bury  provisions  is  sure,  but  it  is  sometimes  done  very  im- 
perfectly, even  when  there  is  no  physical  difficulty  in  the 
way  of  completeness.  On  rocky  soil  the  cache  is  simply 
covered  with  leaves,  branches,  and  grass.  Lord  Dunraven, 
however,  tells  of  a  hunter  who  watched  a  grizzly  burying  its 
prey  with  the  greatest  care,  concealing  it  completely,  and 
finishing  off  his  work  in  the  most  painstaking  manner. 
Animals  that  have  this  habit  need  not  watch  their  food  as 
a  tiger  does  his  "kill,"  and  when  the  interment  was  accom- 
plished to  this  one's  satisfaction,  it  went  away.  Before 
getting  far,  some  "whiskey  jacks"  (a  kind  of  magpie)  that 


The  Grizzly  Bear  361 

had  been  intently  observing  his  doings  began  to  unearth 
the  deposit.  Then  he  came  back,  drove  them  off,  and 
repaired  damages.  This  happened  several  times,  until  the 
bear  flew  into  a  violent  passion,  and  while  ramping  around 
after  the  manner  of  these  beasts  he  got  shot.  The  author 
had  a  pony  killed  on  one  occasion,  and  the  murderer  buried 
its  remains  in  the  most  slovenly  manner  possible. 

These  bears  collect  salmon  during  the  spawning  season 
on  the  banks  of  streams.  They  also  scoop  them  out  of  the 
water  with  their  claws,  and  dive  after  single  fish.  There 
are  no  full  accounts  of  the  manner  in  which  prey  is  taken 
among  these  quadrupeds,  but  the  creature's  conformation 
makes  it  impossible  that  any  of  the  deer  kind  could  be  cap- 
tured except  by  stratagem.  A  grizzly  can  make  a  rapid  rush. 
His  lumbering,  awkward  gallop  carries  him  forward  so 
rapidly  that  on  rough  ground  a  man  would  have  to  be  very 
fleet  of  foot  to  have  any  chance  of  escape.  Colonel  Mark- 
ham  states  that  the  charge  of  an  Indian  hill  bear  is  so 
swift  that  it  cannot  be  avoided,  and  it  appears  from  all 
accounts  that  so  far  as  speed  goes,  at  least  for  a  short  dis- 
tance, the  Ursidce  have  in  general  been  underrated.  In 
cover  or  upon  open  spaces,  one  of  these  bears  always 
rises  up  when  its  attention  is  attracted,  and  it  does  the 
same  if  alarmed  or  angry,  if  wounded  or  intending  to 
attack.  It  does  this  in  order  to  see  more  clearly;  for  the 
sight,  although  it  is  not  positively  defective,  cannot  com- 
pare with  that  of  many  other  species,  and  independently 
of  the  advantage  gained  by  elevation,  its  short  neck  cir- 
cumscribes vision  while  the  body  is  in  a  horizontal  posi- 
tion. The  hearing  is  acute  and  the  sense  of  smell  highly 


362  Wild  Beasts 


developed.  J.  R.  Bartlett,  while  acting  upon  the  boundary 
commission  between  the  United  States  and  Mexico,  says 
that  at  his  encampment  by  the  geysers  of  Pluton  River  his 
party  found  signs  of  these  animals'  proximity,  but  that 
they  managed  to  avoid  meeting  the  intruders,  chiefly,  as 
he  supposed,  by  means  of  their  scenting  powers.  Lieu- 
tenant J.  W.  Abert,  while  hidden  with  a  companion  at 
fifty  yards  from  three  grizzlies,  was  detected  in  this  way, 
and  the  majority  of  observers  have  remarked  upon  the 
goodness  of  their  noses.  It  is  also  said  that  they  have  an 
aversion  to  human  efHuvninv  -and  that  a  warm  trail  will 
cause  one  to  turn  aside  more  certainly  than  the  sight  of  a 
hunter.  This  needs  confirmation,  and  may  be  taken  with 
the  same  reservation  which  should  attach  to  Godman's 
statement  that  the  grizzly  "  is  much  more  intimidated  by 
the  voice  than  the  aspect  of  man."  No  doubt  bears  may 
have  failed  to  push  a  charge  home  because  their  intended 
victim  screamed  with  terror,  but  both  in  this  case  and  in 
that  just  mentioned,  while  speaking  of  the  influence  of 
odor,  so  soon  as  such  experiences  are  created  into  gen- 
eral truths,  they  can  be  met  with  facts  by  which  they  are 
stultified. 

Nothing,  so  far  as  the  author  knows,  has  been  ad- 
vanced upon  the  subject  of  a  male  grizzly's  paternal 
virtues  or  conjugal  affections.  As  is  the  rule  with  fierce 
beasts,  offspring  depend  upon  the  mother  for  care  and 
protection.  Two  or  three  cubs  are  born  together  in 
spring,  and  they  have  been  seen  in  her  company  from 
infancy  up  to  an  age  when  apparently  able  to  shift  for 
themselves.  Very  little  is  known,  however,  about  the  im- 


The  Grizzly  Bear  363 

portant  subject  of  their  training,  the  length  of  time  during 
which  they  are  under  tutelage,  or  the  degree  to  which  tender- 
ness and  solicitude  are  developed  in  females  of  this  species 
by  maternity.  A  tigress  robbed  of  her  young  has  become  a 
familiar  simile  for  expressing  desperation  and  inappeasable 
anger,  but  it  has  little  foundation  in  truth,  and  many 
reports  to  the  same  effect  in  this  animal's  case,  appear 
upon  a  wide  survey  of  the  evidence  to  be  equally  doubtful. 
Colonel  R.  I.  Dodge  ("Plains  of  the  Great  West")  most 
likely  comes  as  near  the  truth  as  it  is  possible  for  any  one 
to  do  in  the  present  state  of  knowledge,  when  he  remarks 
that  although  a  she-bear  will  often  fight  desperately  in 
defence  of  her  cubs,  it  is  just  as  probable  that  they  may 
be  abandoned  to  their  fate  if  the  mother  supposes  herself 
to  be  in  danger. 

As  might  be  imagined,  grizzly  bears  can,  for  the  most 
part,  only  be  got  the  better  of  by  being  killed.  They  are 
occasionally  trapped,  however.  The  instrument  is  an 
ordinary  toothed  spring  trap,  to  which  a  log  is  attached  by 
a  chain.  When  sprung  it  is  impossible  either  to  break  or 
unloose  it,  and  the  furious  animal  goes  off  with  the  entire 
apparatus,  but  is  much  hampered  by  this  encumbrance, 
and  leaves  a  trail  as  easily  followed  as  a  turnpike. 

Of  necessity  such  a  beast  of  prey  as  this  has  gathered 
around  it  a  perfect  fog  of  superstitions,  traditions,  false 
beliefs,  and  incredible  stories.  The  author  is  familiar  with 
the  scenes  in  which  most  of  these  exploits  and  wonders 
are  said  to  have  been  wrought,  as  well  as  with  the  men 
who  relate  and  oftentimes  believe  them.  As  a  class,  they 
are  not  perhaps  greatly  superior  in  culture  and  mental 


364  Wild  Beasts 


discipline  to  those  savages  among  whom  their  lives  have 
been  passed.  Like  them,  their  observations  are  generally 
accurate,  and  the  inferences  drawn  from  experience  absurd. 
Travellers  who  associate  with  undeveloped  men  anywhere 
soon  learn  to  make  this  distinction.  Moreover,  the  trapper 
or  hunter  seen  in  general  and  most  frequently  met  with  in 
books,  no  more  resembles  some  exceptional  members  of  this 
class,  than  that  blustering,  melodramatic  assassin,  the  would- 
be  desperado,  does  the  quiet,  self-contained  fighting-man  of 
the  frontier,  and  a  wider  difference  than  these  classes 
present  cannot  be  found  among  alien  species  in  nature. 
If  one  is  fortunate  enough  to  find  favor  in  the  eyes  of 
a  true  mountain  man,  he  will  do  well  to  listen  to  what 
is  said,  and  compare  as  many  experiences  with  him  as 
possible. 

Among  reports  most  rife  upon  the  border  is  this,  that  if 
a  fugitive  pursued  by  a  grizzly  bear  keeps  a  straight  line 
around  a  hillside,  the  animal  is  certain  to  get  either  above 
or  below  him.  The  writer  has  heard  men  swear  that  they 
have  tried  this  and  seen  it  tried,  but  would  be  loath  to 
trust  in  this  device  himself.  Many  persons  are  also  con- 
vinced of  the  truth  of  a  very  prevalent  account  to  the 
effect  that  a  puma  can  kill  one  of  these  bears,  and  fre- 
quently does  so.  Nothing  can  be  offered  on  the  basis  of 
personal  experience  or  observation  either  in  corroboration 
or  rebuttal  of  this  opinion.  We  have  seen  that  there  are 
good  grounds  for  crediting  the  fact  of  Indian  wild  dogs 
assaulting  tigers  successfully,  and  the  same  is  not  impos- 
sible in  this  instance.  Theodore  Roosevelt  ("  Hunting 
Trips  of  a  Ranchman'*)  says  "anyone  of  the  big  bears 


The  Grizzly  Bear  365 

we  killed  on  the  mountains  would,  I  should  think,  have 
been  able  to  make  short  work  of  a  lion  or  a  tiger."  At 
the  same  time  he  remarks  that  either  of  the  latter  "  would 
be  fully  as  dangerous  to  a  hunter  or  other  human  being, 
on  account  of  the  superior  speed  of  its  charge,  the 
lightning-like  rapidity  of  its  movements,  and  its  apparently 
sharper  senses."  The  fact  of  an  animal's  antagonist  being 
a  man  has  evidently  no  relation  to  the  question  of  relative 
prowess.  Those  advantages  attributed  to  Felida  must  of 
course  tell  in  conflict  with  any  animal  proportionately  to  the 
degree  in  which  they  exceeded  like  traits  upon  the  part  of 
an  adversary.  Cougars  greatly  excel  the  grizzly  bear  in 
those  qualities  mentioned,  but  how  far  they  might  coun- 
terbalance its  great  superiority  in  strength  is  another 
matter. 

Nearly  all  that  has  been  said  of  the  subject  of  this  sketch 
relates  to  his  behavior  towards  human  beings.  Records 
of  that  character  are  not  wanting,  and  it  should  be  possible 
to  give  a  correct  idea  of  the  grizzly  as  he  appears  in 
literature  without  overloading  the  text  with  quotations. 
Those  traits  to  be  considered  in  this  connection  are  cour- 
age, ferocity,  aggressiveness,  and  tenacity  of  life,  all  of  which 
are  represented  very  differently,  according  as  the  writers 
describe  them  from  hearsay  or  personal  observation,  and 
as  they  refer  to  animals  existing  in  dissimilar  times  and 
places,  with  or  without  reference  to  the  fact  that  this  is  a 
creature  which  has  undergone  much  modification  under 
unlike  conditions  of  existence.  No  one  can  delineate  the 
features  of  this  species  in  its  entirety,  but  most  persons 
attempt  to  do  so,  and  their  accounts  are  liable  to  the  same 


366  Wild  Beasts 


objections  which  have  been  made  to  premature  conclusions 
and  want  of  discrimination  in  other  instances. 

The  statements  of  those  who  know  this  animal  do  not 
disagree  very  conspicuously  with  respect  to  its  character  as 
a  formidable  foe.  Dr.  Elliott  Coues,  who,  besides  being  a 
distinguished  naturalist,  had  opportunities  for  acquiring  a 
special  knowledge  of  the  grizzly  bear,  speaks  of  it  in  his 
"  History  of  the  Expedition  of  Lewis  and  Clark  "  in  terms 
which  afford  a  curious  contrast  to  those  of  men  who  were 
less  well  informed.  In  mentioning  the  difficulties  encoun- 
tered by  these  explorers,  he  observes  that  "  this  bear  was 
found  to  be  so  numerous  and  so  fierce,  especially  in  the 
upper  Missouri  region,  as  to  more  than  once  endanger  the 
lives  of  the  party,  and  form  an  impediment  to  the  progress 
of  the  expedition."  Lord  Dunraven  says  that  on  "The 
Great  Divide "  these  bears  "  did  not  appear  to  mind  the 
proximity  of  our  camp  in  the  least,  or  to  take  any  notice 
of  us  or  our  tracks.  A  grizzly  is  an  independent  kind  of 
beast,  and  has  a  good  deal  of  don't-care-a-damnativeness 
about  him."  Godman  asserts  that  it  is  "  justly  considered 
to  be  the  most  dreadful  and  dangerous  of  American 
quadrupeds,"  while  Audubon  and  Bachman,  and,  it  may  be 
added,  the  great  majority  of  all  who  have  had  any  personal 
acquaintance  with  the  brute,  refer  to  it  in  a  similar  way. 
Frederick  Schwatka,  for  example,  reports  that  "  everywhere 
in  his  dismal  dominions  at  the  north  he  is  religiously  avoided 
by  the  native  hunter.  .  .  .  Although  he  is  not  hunted, 
encounters  with  him  are  not  unknown,  as  he  is  savage 
enough  to  become  the  hunter  himself  at  times.  .  .  . 
Indian  fear  of  the  great  brown  bear  I  found  to  be  coex- 


The  Grizzly  Bear  367 

tensive  with  all  my  travels  in  Alaska  and  the  British  North- 
west Territory." 

The  other  side  in  these  opinions  is  represented  by  no- 
body more  positively  than  Alfred  G.  Brehm  ("  Thierleben  "). 
So  far  as  one  can  judge  from  his  work,  he  knew  the  animal 
of  which  he  writes  only  by  report,  and  if  the  text  of  his 
article  is  to  be  taken  as  an  indication  of  the  authorities 
consulted  upon  this  subject,  they  were  so  few  that  it  is  not 
surprising  he  wandered  far  from  reality.  This  author's  views 
upon  the  character  of  Ursus  horribilis  may  be  thus  given 
in  English  :  "  In  its  habits  the  gray  bear  is  similar  to  ours  ; 
like  these,  it  hibernates ;  but  its  walk  is  staggering  and 
uncertain,  and  all  its  motions  are  heavier."  Brehm  states 
that  in  youth  the  grizzly  climbs  trees,  that  he  is  a  good 
swimmer,  "a  thorough  thief,  and  is  strong  enough  to  over- 
power every  creature  in  his  native  country."  When  lassoed, 
he  can  drag  up  the  horse.  "  Former  writers  have  charac- 
terized him  as  a  terrible  and  vicious  animal  that  shows  no 
fear  of  man,  but,  on  the  contrary,  pursues  him,  whether 
mounted  or  on  foot,  armed  or  unarmed.  .  .  .  On  all  these 
grounds  the  hunter  who  has  overcome  Old  Ephraim,  as  the 
bear  is  called,  becomes  the  wonder  and  admiration  of  all 
mankind,"  including  the  Indians.  "  Among  all  their  tribes 
the  possession  of  a  necklace  of  bears'  claws  and  teeth  gives 
its  wearer  a  distinction  which  a  prince  or  successful  gen- 
eral scarcely  enjoys  among  us."  He  must,  however,  have 
slain  the  animal  from  which  these  trophies  were  taken, 
himself.  "  Statements  of  this  nature,"  remarks  Brehm, 
"are  some  of  them  false  and  others  greatly  exaggerated. 
They  were  spread  and  believed  at  a  time  when  the  far  West 


368  Wild  Beasts 


was  but  little  visited,  and  when  the  public  demanded  an 
exciting  story  about  a  much  dreaded  animal  that  was  fitted 
to  play  in  the  New  World  the  same  part  that  the  famous 
beasts  of  prey  did  in  the  Old."  This,  with  much  more  to 
the  same  effect ;  and  then,  after  a  passing  notice  that  Pech- 
uel  and  Loesche  found  no  grizzlies  that  would  stand,  he 
quotes  General  Marcy  at  length  to  show  that  they  are 
rather  harmless,  cowardly,  contemptible  creatures,  and  dis- 
misses the  beast  in  disgrace. 

Marcy  relates  ("  Thirty  Years  of  Army  Life  on  the  Bor- 
der") that  when  he  reached  the  haunts  of  grizzly  bears, 
he  expected  to  see  destructive  monsters  in  a  perpetual 
rage,  like  Buffon's  tigers.  It  was  his  belief  that  they  would 
attack  mounted  men  with  rifles  as  soon  as  they  came  in 
sight,  that  these  bears  desired  nothing  more  than  to  fight, 
in  season  and  out  of  it,  irrespective  of  time,  place,  or  cir- 
cumstances, and  without  reference  to  odds  or  any  former 
experiences  of  the  results.  Not  finding  any  such  extraor- 
dinarily besotted  idiots  as  this,  the  soldier,  who  seems  to 
have  been  as  fit  to  decide  upon  questions  of  comparative 
psychology  as  he  was  to  give  opinions  in  canon-law,  became 
possessed  with  conceptions  that  are  counterparts  of  those 
announced  by  Brehm.  Those  extracts  made  from  the  lat- 
ter were  taken  from  a  very  voluminous  and  undoubtedly 
valuable  work  on  natural  history,  but  its  author  has  said 
nothing  concerning  the  anomaly  of  a  beast  of  prey  twice 
as  large  as  a  lion  and  fully  as  well  armed,  being  naturally 
timid  and  inoffensive,  nor  offered  any  suggestions  with 
respect  to  those  conditions  which  changed  what  must 
necessarily  have  been  the  brute's  inherited  character,  be- 


The  Grizzly  Bear  369 

fore  it  began  to  avoid  mankind  ;  neither  has  he,  apparently, 
taken  more  than  the  briefest  glance  at  those  accounts  of 
the  grizzly  which  give  the  results  of  personal  observation. 
This  animal  is  not  customarily  a  hibernating  one,  it  is  not 
in  the  habit  of  climbing  trees  at  any  age,  its  reputation  was 
far  from  being  the  outcome  of  a  demand  made  by  popular 
credulity.  A  grizzly  bear  could  easily  drag  a  horse  up  to 
him  if  he  had  hold  of  its  riata.  The  Indian  who  killed  one 
single-handed  with  a  bow  and  arrows  or  trade-gun  per- 
formed a  feat  second  to  none  that  can  be  imagined  in  the 
way  of  skill  and  daring,  but  thousands  of  rifle-carrying 
mountain  men  have  done  the  like  who  took  small  credit  to 
themselves,  and  got  little  from  anybody  else.  This  whole 
description  is,  considering  its  source,  of  the  most  surpris- 
ing and  unexpected  character. 

There  are  not  many  accounts  of  grizzly  bears  declining 
to  fight ;  but  it  is  evident  that  in  this  respect  the  animal, 
like  every  other  beast  that  has  been  discussed,  is  more  or 
less  aggressive,  according  to  the  locality  where  it  is  found. 
Those  bears  Lewis  and  Clark  encountered  on  the  Upper 
Missouri  in  1804,  are  like  the  grizzlies  of  the  Yukon  to- 
day, but  their  relations,  that  have  been  shot  for  nearly  a 
century,  know  about  rifles  and  conduct  themselves  accord- 
ingly. Theodore  Roosevelt  ("  Still  Hunting  the  Grizzly  " ) 
expresses  this  change  very  well.  "  Now-a-days,"  he  ob- 
serves, "  these  great  bears  are  much  better  aware  than 
formerly  of  the  death-dealing  power  of  man,  and,  as  a 
consequence,  are  far  less  fierce  than  was  the  case  with 
their  forefathers.  .  .  .  Constant  contact  with  rifle-carrying 
hunters  for  a  period  extending  over  many  generations  of 

BB 


370  Wild  Beasts 


bear  life,  has  taught  the  grizzly,  by  bitter  experience,  that 
man  is  his  undoubted  overlord,  so  far  as  fighting  goes ; 
and  this  knowledge  has  become  a  hereditary  character- 
istic." With  every  advantage  in  arms,  it  is  yet  as  danger- 
ous to  meet  this  brute  fairly  as  to  encounter  a  tiger  on  foot ; 
and  wherever  that  superiority  has  not  been  of  long  stand- 
ing, grizzlies  act  like  those  that  stalked  Clark,  charged 
Fremont,  confronted  Long,  and  killed  Ross  Cox's  voyageur 
on  the  Columbia. 

Colonel  Dodge,  referring  to  those  that  had  become 
familiar  with  firearms,  says  that  "  a  grizzly  never  attacks 
unless  when  wounded,  or  when  he  is  cornered."  This  is, 
however,  too  general  a  statement.  As  one  rides  out  of  the 
Tejon  Pass  into  the  Tulare  Valley,  there  is,  a  little  to  the 
right,  an  indentation  or  pocket  in  the  foot-hills,  in  front 
of  which  stand  some  huge  bowlders.  From  behind  one  of 
them  a  bear  rushed  out  and  destroyed  the  famous  Andrew 
Sublette  before  he  had  an  opportunity  to  defend  himself. 
So  far  as  that  goes,  the  result  might  have  been  equally 
fatal  if  he  had  fired,  for  the  writer  used  to  carry  his  rifle, 
and  it  was  far  too  light  a  weapon  for  such  game  as  this. 
Goday,  who  was  as  renowned  a  paladin  of  the  plains  as  he, 
related  the  circumstances  of  his  death,  and  said  that  many 
similar  cases  had  occurred  in  his  experience.  He  added 
that  one  night,  while  sitting,  as  we  were  then,  by  the  hearth 
of  his  little  house  at  the  mountain's  base,  there  was  a 
commotion  outside  at  the  corral,  and  going  out  in  the  dark- 
ness to  see  what  was  wrong,  an  immense  bear  rushed  at 
him,  and  it  was  only  by  an  instant  that  he  got  inside  first. 
Many  persons  have  been  assailed  by  grizzly  bears  they 


The  Grizzly  Bear  371 

never  saw  until  too  late,  and  the  writer,  except  for  the  good 
fortune  of  being  pitched  over  a  precipice,  would  have  been 
another.  Some  authors  have  a  curious  way  of  accounting 
for  these  incidents.  They  say  that  they  occur  because  the 
animal  was  actually  cornered,  or  if  that  statement  cannot 
be  made  to  fit  the  circumstances,  its  attack  is  attributed  to 
an  impression  that  it  conld  not  get  away.  There  is  no 
need  to  dwell  upon  this  explanation.  It  is  merely  a  blank 
assertion  upon  the  part  of  those  who  know  nothing  about 
what  the  beast  thinks  or  feels,  and  it  is  plainly  one-sided 
in  so  far  as  it  omits  to  take  cognizance  of  the  constitutional 
temper  and  tendencies  of  the  creature  whose  acts  are  dis- 
cussed. 

No  writer  of  any  note  except  General  Marcy  has,  so  far 
as  the  author  knows,  denied  that  a  grizzly  bear  soon  comes 
to  bay,  and  that  he  then  devotes  his  energies  to  destruc- 
tion with  entire  single-mindedness.  Those  who  have  met 
him,  alike  with  those  who  have  acquainted  themselves  with 
any  completeness  with  the  observations  of  others,  know 
that  this  brute's  patience  under  aggression  is  of  the  brief- 
est, and  his  inherent  ferocity  easily  aroused.  When  it  is 
injured,  the  animal  is  exceptionally  desperate,  and  fights 
from  the  first  as  a  lion,  tiger,  and  jaguar  are  apt  to  do  only 
in  their  death  rally.  Colonel  Dodge  expresses  the  best 
opinions  upon  this  point  in  saying  that  "  when  wounded,  a 
grizzly  bear  attacks  with  the  utmost  ferocity,  and  regard- 
less of  the  number  or  nature  of  his  assailants.  Then  he 
is  without  doubt  the  most  formidable  and  dangerous  of 
wild  beasts." 

"  In  some  way  it  has  come    about,"   says   Lockwood, 


372  Wild  Beasts 


"  that  .  .  .  Bruin  has  secured  for  himself  an  almost  super- 
stitious respect."  The  way  he  did  so  has  just  been  men- 
tioned. Men  had  reason  to  fear  him,  and  their  veneration 
followed  as  a  matter  of  course.  It  was  because  he  proved 
"most  formidable  and  dangerous"  that  Schwatka  found 
among  the  Chilkat  Indians  the  highest  clan  called  brown 
bears,  and  for  a  like  reason  the  native  warrior  wore  his 
claws  as  a  badge  of  honor. 

Ferocity,  prowess,  and  tenacity  of  life  appear  most  con- 
spicuously in  accounts  of  actual  conflict.  Enough  has  been 
said  with  respect  to  the  first-named  trait,  and  no  one  ever 
called  the  others  in  question.  Major  Leveson  ("  Sport  in 
Many  Lands  ")  is  of  the  opinion  that  grizzly  bears  should 
only  be  met  with  the  heaviest  rifles  —  "  bone-smashers,"  as 
Sir  Samuel  Baker  calls  them.  Lighter  weapons  are  too  often 
ineffectual,  and  Dall  ("  Alaska  and  its  Resources  ")  reports 
that  when  the  poorly  armed  natives  of  that  province  occa- 
sionally venture  upon  an  assault  of  this  kind,  they  assem- 
ble in  large  parties,  watch  the  bear  into  the  recesses  of  its 
den,  block  up  the  entrance  with  timber  prepared  for  this 
purpose,  and  fire  volleys  into  him  as  he  tries  to  get  at  them. 
It  will  be  denied  by  some,  on  anatomical  grounds,  that  the 
Alaskan  bears  are  grizzlies,  but  we  are  not  concerned  here 
with  structural  distinctions,  and  in  character  there  is  no  dif- 
ference. Colonel  Dodge  mentions  the  case  of  two  soldiers 
at  Fort  Wingate  who  had  an  unfortunate  encounter  with 
one  of  these  beasts,  but  does  not  give  the  details.  Roose- 
velt, however,  had  the  tale  from  the  surgeon  who  attended 
them,  and  relates  it  ("  Hunting  Trips  of  a  Ranchman  ") 
as  follows  :  "  The  men  were  mail-carriers,  and  one  day 


The  Grizzly  Bear  373 

did  not  come  in  at  the  appointed  time.  Next  day  a  relief 
party  was  sent  out  to  look  for  them,  and  after  some  search 
found  the  bodies  of  both,  as  well  as  that  of  one  of  the 
horses.  One  of  the  men  still  showed  signs  of  life  ;  he 
came  to  his  senses  before  dying,  and  told  his  story.  They 
had  seen  a  grizzly  and  pursued  it  on  horseback,  with  their 
Spencer  rifles.  On  coming  close,  one  fired  into  its  side, 
when  it  turned,  with  marvellous  quickness  for  so  large 
and  unwieldy  an  animal,  and  struck  down  the  horse,  at  the 
same  time  inflicting  a  ghastly  wound  upon  the  rider.  The 
other  man  dismounted  and  came  up  to  the  rescue  of  his 
companion.  The  bear  then  left  the  latter  and  attacked 
him.  Although  hit  by  the  bullet,  it  charged  home  and 
thrust  the  man  down,  and  then  lay  on  him  and  deliberately 
bit  him  to  death,  while  his  groans  and  cries  were  frightful 
to  hear.  Afterward  it  walked  off  into  the  bushes,  without 
again  offering  to  molest  the  already  mortally  wounded  vic- 
tim of  his  first  assault." 

It  is  commonly  believed  that  feigning  death  will  prevent 
a  bear  from  inflicting  further  injuries.  In  many  cases  this 
is  no  doubt  the  case.  Few  unwounded  animals  tear  a  dead 
body,  except  in  the  act  of  devouring  it.  This  stratagem 
must  always  be  of  doubtful  efficacy,  since  beasts  of  prey 
would  generally  be  acute  enough  to  detect  it.  The  ruse, 
however,  may  have  been  tried  upon  grizzlies  with  success  ; 
they  are  not  brilliant  beasts,  so  far  as  can  be  discovered  ;  but 
this  device  sometimes  fails.  A  hunter  told  the  writer,  over 
their  camp-fire  in  the  Sierra  Nevada,  of  his  brother's  death, 
which  he  witnessed.  They  were  shooting  in  those  moun- 
tains, and  he  was  on  a  steep  escarpment  of  rock,  his  com- 


374 


Wild  Beasts 


panion  in  the  ravine  beneath.  A  deer  was  roused  and  shot 
by  the  latter,  when  a  large  bear  rushed  upon  him,  struck 
the  rifle  out  of  his  hands,  and  knocked  him  down,  but  with- 
out causing  any  serious  injury.  He  said  that  he  dared 
not  fire  for  fear  of  infuriating  the  animal,  and  shouted  to 
his  brother  to  pretend  to  be  dead.  This  was  done;  the 
beast  walked  round  him,  smelt  at  his  body,  and  finally  lay 
down  close  beside  it.  Suddenly  he  seized  upon  one  of  the 
arms  and  bit  it  savagely.  The  unfortunate  man  probably 
could  not  control  respiration  sufficiently,  or  there  was  some 
involuntary  muscular  movement.  At  all  events,  this  is  what 
happened,  and  the  pain  caused  him  to  start  up  with  a  loud 
cry,  upon  which  the  bear  rose  erect,  grasped  him  with  his 
arms,  and,  in  the  language  of  the  narrator,  "  bit  the  top  of 
his  head  off  clean." 

Roosevelt  relates  that  a  neighbor  of  his,  "out  on  a  mining 
trip,  was  prospecting  with  two  other  men  near  the  head- 
water of  the  Little  Missouri,  in  the  Black  Hills  country. 
They  were  walking  down  along  the  river,  and  came  to  a 
point  of  land  thrust  out  into  it,  which  was  densely  covered 
with  brush  and  fallen  timber.  Two  of  the  party  walked 
round  by  the  edge  of  the  stream  ;  but  the  third,  a  German, 
and  a  very  powerful  fellow,  followed  a  well-beaten  game 
trail  leading  through  the  bushy  point.  When  they  were 
some  forty  yards  apart,  these  two  men  heard  an  agonized 
shout  from  the  German,  and  at  the  same  time  the  loud 
coughing  growl  or  roar  of  a  bear.  They  turned  just  in 
time  to  see  their  companion  struck  a  terrible  blow  on  the 
head  by  a  grizzly,  which  must  have  been  roused  from 
its  lair  by  his  almost  stepping  on  it ;  so  close  was  it 


The  -Grizzly  Bear  375 

that  he  had  no  time  to  fire  his  rifle,  but  merely  held  it 
up  over  his  head  as  a  guard.  Of  course  it  was  struck 
down,  the  claws  of  the  great  brute  at  the  same  time 
shattering  his  skull  like  an  eggshell.  Yet  the  man  stag- 
gered on  some  ten  feet  before  he  fell ;  but  when  he  did,  he 
never  spoke  or  moved  again.  The  two  others  killed  the 
bear  after  a  short,  brisk  struggle,  as  he  was  in  the  midst 
of  a  most  determined  charge." 

Everybody  makes  an  oversight  sometimes,  and  although 
this  accomplished  sportsman  and  careful  writer  is  very  free 
from  the  blemishes  that  usually  disfigure  observers  of  wild 
beasts,  there  is  a  slip  of  the  pen  here.  How  did  he  know 
this  bear  was  not  waiting  for  the  man  it  killed  ?  Nobody 
saw  it  until  in  the  act  of  striking,  and  why  the  brute  "  must 
have  been  roused  from  its  lair  by  his  almost  stepping  upon 
it "  does  not  appear.  There  is  at  least  a  probability  that 
its  acute  senses  warned  it  of  the  approach  of  a  heavy  man 
walking  carelessly  through  brush,  and  of  two  others  tramp- 
ing round  the  cover  within  forty  yards. 

The  bear's  temper,  disposition,  and  power  of  offence 
seem  to  be  underrated  with  respect  to  the  species  at  large. 
Whether  because  its  appearance  is  less  impressive  than 
that  of  animals  which  have  gathered  about  them  most  of 
the  world's  gossip,  or  for  any  other  reason  to  which  this 
inappreciation  may  be  attributed,  both  in  Europe,  Asia, 
and  America,  the  Ursidce  in  general  have  undoubtedly 
less  reputation  than  they  seem  to  deserve,  and  less  than 
the  deeds  they  do  and  have  done  in  all  countries  would 
apparently  have  brought  with  them  as  a  matter  of  course. 
Poorly  armed  and  primitive  populations  throughout  the 


376  Wild  Beasts 


earth  think  differently,  however,  about  them.  In  the 
folk-lore  of  Europe  and  Asia  this  creature  is  conspicuous. 
The  great  hunters  write  of  it  in  a  respectful  strain.  No 
man  who  ever  stood  before  an  enraged  bear  thought 
lightly  of  its  prowess.  A  host  of  well-known  names 
are  appended  to  statements  concerning  destructive  arc- 
toids  in  the  Scandinavian  Mountains  and  the  Pyrenees,  in 
the  Himalayas  and  Caucasus,  the  highlands  of  Central 
India,  and  the  forests  and  plains  north  and  south  of  "  the 
stony  girdle  of  the  world." 

There  is  every  reason  why  this  beast  should  be  for- 
midable wherever  it  has  not  encountered  modern  weapons  ; 
and  that  it  is  so  its  whole  literature  attests.  Rich- 
ardson's name  ("Fauna  Boreali  Americana"),  Ursus ferox, 
translates  his  own  experiences  and  those  of  native  tribes. 
Colonel  Pollock  ("Natural  History  Notes")  asserts  that 
"  in  Assam  bears  are  far  more  destructive  to  human  life 
than  tigers,"  and  more  than  one  authoritative  statement 
to  the  same  effect  has  been  made  concerning  those  of 
India.  It  happens  curiously  that  the  ancient  documents 
of  China  preserve  the  descriptive  title  which  has  been  con- 
ferred upon  the  great  bear  of  America.  In  Dr.  Legge's 
edition  of  the  Chinese  Classics,  the  Bamboo  Books  have  a 
note  appended  by  some  native  scholiast  to  Part  I.,  relating 
to  the  reign  of  Hwang-te,  in  which  his  general  Ying-lung, 
while  fighting  against  Ch'e-yew,  is  said  to  have  been  assisted 
by  "tigers,  panthers,  bears,  and  gristly  (grizzly)  bears'' 

The  grizzly  is  so  difficult  to  kill  that  he  has  the  reputa- 
tion of  being  nearly  invulnerable.  It  is  quite  true  that 
the  species  possesses  great  tenacity  of  life,  and  that  in 


The  Grizzly  Bear  377 

extremity  the  animal  is  capable  of  doing  extreme  injury. 
"  One  of  the  most  complete  wrecks  of  humanity  I  ever 
saw,"  says  Colonel  Dodge,  "  was  a  man  who  had  shot  a 
grizzly  bear  through  the  head.  Both  were  found  dead 
together."  Roosevelt  killed  one  with  a  single  shot.  Fol- 
lowing his  trail  among  the  Bighorn  Mountains,  he  and  his 
companion,  while  "in  the  middle  of  a  thicket,  crossed  what 
was  almost  a  breastwork  of  fallen  logs,  and  Merrifield,  who 
was  leading,  passed  by  the  upright  stem  of  a  great  pine. 
As  soon  as  he  was  by  it,  he  sank  suddenly  on  one  knee, 
turning  half  round,  his  face  fairly  aflame  with  excitement ; 
and  as  I  strode  past  him  with  my  rifle  at  the  ready,  there 
was  the  great  bear  slowly  rising  from  his  bed  among  the 
young  spruces.  He  had  heard  us  ...  though  we  ad- 
vanced with  noiseless  caution,  .  .  .  but  apparently  hardly 
knew  exactly  where  or  what  we  were,  for  he  reared  up 
on  his  haunches  sideways  to  us.  Then  he  saw  us  and 
dropped  down  again  on  all  fours,  the  shaggy  hair  on  his 
neck  and  shoulders  seeming  to  bristle  as  he  turned  toward 
us.  As  he  sank  down  on  his  fore  feet,  I  raised  the  rifle ; 
his  head  was  slightly  bent  down,  and  when  I  saw  the  top 
of  the  white  bead  fairly  between  his  small,  glittering,  evil 
eyes,  I  pulled  trigger.  Half  rising  up,  the  huge  beast 
fell  over  on  his  side  in  the  death  throes,  the  ball  having 
gone  into  his  brain."  Generally  it  is  not  so  soon  over. 
Captain  Lewis  mentions  a  case  in  which  one  did  not 
succumb  until  eight  balls  went  through  its  lungs,  and 
several  into  other  parts  of  the  body.  This  officer  also 
relates  that  one  of  his  party  was  pursued  for  half  a  mile 
by  a  grizzly  he  had  shot  through  the  lungs,  and  which 


378  Wild  Beasts 


it  finally  took  eight  men  to  kill.  Lewis  said  he  would 
"rather  encounter  two  Indians  than  one  grizzly  bear." 

On  the  other  hand,  this  powerful  and  ferocious  creature 
may  occasionally  be  destroyed  or  beaten  off  with  seemingly 
inadequate  means.  Single  Indians  sometimes  killed  it; 
white  hunters  with  "  pea-rifles "  often ;  and  Roosevelt 
reports  that  he  had  a  stallion  that  disabled  one  by  a  kick 
in  the  head.  A  similar  account  is  given  by  Colonel 
Davidson  ("Travels  in  Upper  India")  of  an  incurably 
vicious  English  thoroughbred  at  Lucknow,  which  fractured 
a  tiger's  skull  when  condemned  to  be  devoured  by  this 
beast.  Major  Leveson,  who  had  met  most  species  of 
Ursidce,  regarded  the  grizzly  as  "by  far  the  largest  and 
most  formidable  of  his  race,  .  .  .  one  of  the  most  dan- 
gerous antagonists  a  hunter  can  meet  with."  But  he 
knew  that  weapons  before  which  the  black  rhinoceros  and 
African  elephant  are  powerless,  prove  too  much  for  this 
animal  also,  and  therefore  refers  "  the  numerous  accidents 
that  have  occurred  in  hunting  the  grizzly  to  insufficiency 
of  weight  in  the  projectiles  generally  used."  If  the  hunter 
be  "  armed  with  a  large-bore  breech-loading  rifle,  and  keep 
his  wits  about  him,"  he  has  the  advantage,  barring  accident. 
But  even  then,  "  should  the  bear  not  be  shot  through  the 
brain  or  heart,  unless  his  assailant  maintain  his  presence 
of  mind,  and  put  in  his  second  barrel  well  and  quickly, 
the  chances  are  that  the  latter  will  come  to  grief,  if  his 
comrades  fail  to  come  to  the  rescue." 

Leveson  relates  the  following  experience  of  his  own  : 
"We  were  encamped  on  the  Wind  River  .  .  .  when  at 
daybreak  one  dreary  morning  a  cry  of  alarm  rang  through 


The  Grizzly  Bear  379 

camp,  and  I  was  awakened  by  our  people  hurrying  to  and 
fro  in  noisy  confusion.  ...  As  I  drew  near  to  the  clump 
of  red  cedars  whence  the  sound  of  firearms  issued  .  .  . 
one  of  the  half-breeds  came  running  back  and  informed 
me  that  the  row  was  occasioned  by  a  grizzly,  that  had 
tried  to  carry  off  one  of  the  baggage  ponies,  but  had  been 
driven  off  by  the  guard,  who  fired  at  him,  and  that  in 
revenge  he  had  carried  off  an  Indian  boy  who  had  charge 
of  the  dogs.  Guided  by  the  shouting,  which  still  continued, 
and  accompanied  by  Pierre,  who  carried  a  second  gun,  I 
entered  the  copse  and  found  a  big  grizzly  evidently  master 
of  the  situation ;  for  although  three  or  four  of  our  Black- 
foot  scouts  were  halloaing  around  him,  he  did  not  appear 
to  mind  them,  but  confined  his  attentions  to  Crib,  a  bull- 
terrier,  that  pluckily  kept  him  at  bay  by  dancing  about  all 
round  him,  without  risking  a  mauling  by  getting  within 
striking  reach  of  his  claws.  I  was  mounted  on  a  thoroughly 
broken  Indian  mustang  .  .  .  and  rode  pretty  close  up 
before  I  saw  that  the  boy  was  lying  on  the  ground 
apparently  so  badly  hurt  as  to  be  insensible,  while  the 
faithful  old  dog  was  doing  what  he  could  to  protect  him 
by  harassing  his  huge  antagonist. 

"  On  my  riding  up  to  about  twenty  yards'  distance,  '  Old 
Ephraim '  raised  himself  on  his  hind  legs,  and  cocked  his 
head  knowingly  on  one  side,  as  if  he  were  going  to  make  a 
rush.  Whilst  he  was  in  this  attitude,  his  brawny  chest 
being  fully  exposed,  I  gave  him  the  contents  of  both 
barrels  almost  simultaneously,  which  rolled  him  over  on 
his  back,  where  he  made  several  convulsive  movements 
with  his  paws.  .  .  .  Dismounting,  I  took  my  second 


380  Wild  Beasts 


gun  from  Pierre,  and  gave  him  the  coup  de  grace  behind 
the  ear,  when,  with  a  peculiarly  melancholy,  whining  moan, 
he  stretched  out  his  great  limbs  and  breathed  his  last." 

The  boy,  though  wounded,  was  feigning  death  and 
escaped,  but  it  must  be  admitted  that  the  ruse  was  tried 
under  exceptionally  favorable  circumstances.  "  Many  and 
many  a  spirit-stirring  yarn,"  says  Leveson,  "  have  I  heard 
related  by  hunters,  around  the  watch-fire,  of  their  encounters 
with  the  much-dreaded  grizzly."  Bear  stories  are  greatly 
alike,  he  adds,  and  concludes  his  description  by  saying,  in 
much  the  same  way  as  Colonel  Dodge  ("  The  Black  Hills  "), 
"from  my  own  experience,  I  should  always  give  'Old 
Ephraim'  a  wide  berth  if  I  were  not  armed  with  a 
thoroughly  serviceable  breech-loading  rifle  throwing  a 
large  ball." 

The  annals  of  hunting  preserve  the  name  of  no  greater 
or  more  adventurous  sportsman  than  he  who  gives  this 
opinion.  It  is  one  which  every  one  who  has  encountered 
the  grizzly  bear  will  agree  to,  and  it  might  also  have  been 
arrived  at  from  studying  the  literature  of  this  subject 
alone. 


Nortoooti 

J.  S.  Gushing  &  Co.  -  Berwick  &  Smith. 
Boston,  Mass.,  U.S.A. 


14  DAY  USE 

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